Chicano Movement

The 1960s was a turbulent decade in American history filled with issues ranging from civil rights

to the Vietnam War. The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, known as the Chicano

Movement, addressed a multitude of issues such as the restoration of land grants to political

rights. Some significant figures throughout this movement have been Cesar Chavez, Dolores

Huerta, Rodulfo Corky Gonzales, and Salvador Castro. Cesar Chavez was a Mexican

American union leader and labor organizer. He founded the National Farm Workers Association

in 1962, he stressed nonviolent methods in drawing attention to his causes through boycotts,

marches and hunger strikes. Dolores Huerta, still alive today, is also a union leader who

co-founded the United Farm Workers. She has fought to improve social and economic conditions

for farm workers. In 1966, Rodulfo Gonzales founded The Crusades For Justice, an organization

that advocated for Chicano nationalism. Salvador Castro was a Mexican-American educator and

activists who was well-known for his roles in the Los Angeles high school walkouts. The

Chicano Movement is still prevalent in America today. There are organizations on college

campuses in this country that promote Chicano nationalism; they try to end the discrimination

affiliated with Mexican-Americans and help the chicano/a community embrace their culture.