1. Mexican American Civil Rights

2. Crystal City Walk-Out

3. On December 9, 1969, American students of Mexican ancestry walked out of class in response to the inadequate and antagonistic responses of the Anglo-controlled school board. Some of the educational issues were:
Employ more Mexican-American teachers that would be more sensitive to Mexican-American students;
Create a Mexican-American studies class;
Homecoming Queen should be elected by the students and no one else;
Change school board policy in regards to selecting the cheerleaders;
Eliminate the Dual Sweetheart policy for the baseball team; 
Allow students to speak Spanish at school;
Install Bilingual Education;
Get rid of racist teachers;
Student led elections for organizations and clubs, instead of teachers.
The walkout lasted until the federal Civil Rights Commission mediated a compromise between the school board and the students. The duration of the walkout was two weeks.

4. Mexican American Civil Rights Leaders

5. Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) Used civil disobedience methods
Used civil disobedience methods
Who also used non-violence?
Fought for the rights of migrant farm workers
With his wife, Chavez taught Mexican immigrants to read and organized voter registration drives
Co-Founded the National Farm Workers Association
Used strikes and boycotts (lettuce and grapes) to gain rights for farm workers
Led a nationwide boycott of grapes
Name later changed to United Farm Workers
Motto: “Si, se puede”
Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously
Who also used non-violence?
Define migrant

6. Dolores Huerta (1930 - Worked to improve social and economic
conditions of immigrant workers and fought to
end discrimination
Created the Agricultural Workers Association
and co-founded the United Farm Workers
Who did she co-found with?
Lobbied politicians on many issues
Allowing migrant workers w/out U.S. Citizenship to receive public assistance and pensions
Creating Spanish-language voting ballots and driver tests
Received the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame
Quote: “Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk”
Who was the co-founder?
Define lobby

8. Hector P. Garcia (1914-1996) Served in the Medical Corps during WWII
Fought against discrimination of Mexican
Americans
Organized the American G.I. Forum to
improve veteran benefits and give them
better medical attention
Soon expanded to address educational and
vocational training, housing, public education, poll taxation, voter registration, hospitalization, and employment
What is a G.I.?
What amendment ended poll taxes?
Was awarded the American Medal of Freedom
First Mexican Americans to receive this honor
Motto: “Education is our freedom, and freedom is everybody’s business”
Define G.I.
What was the G.I. Bill of Rights?
What amendment ended poll taxation?

9. Mexican American Civil Rights Organizations

10. League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Established in Corpus Christi, Texas
Believes in assimilation
Works to advance the economic condition, educational opportunities, political influence, and civil rights for Hispanic Americans
Define assimilation

11. La Raza Unida Founded by Jose Angel Gutierrez
Started in Crystal City, Texas and spread to the Southwestern United States
Centered on Chicano Nationalism
Wanted better housing, employment, and educational opportunities for Mexican Americans

12. Mexican American Legal Defense Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Founded in San Antonio, Texas
Brought important civil rights cases before the Supreme Court such as:
White v. Regester
Edgewood ISD vs. Kirby
Rodriguez v. San Antonio ISD

13. Founded by David Sanchez Still exists today The Five Battlefronts:
Education
Social
Spiritual
Economic
Political

14. Mexican American Civil Rights Court Cases

15. Turn and Talk
Roberto Alvarez v. Board of Trustees of Lemon Grove School District, 1930
As you watching the video, answer the following questions:
When was this case brought before the Supreme Court?
What issue was brought before the Supreme Court?
What connections can we make to information we learned in previous units?

16. Mendez v. Westminster
This case challenged racial segregation in schools in California.
Students who did not speak English were placed in separate “Mexican schools”
Court ruled that segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students into separate “Mexican schools” was
unconstitutional.

18. Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
The public education system in Texas for Mexican Americans offered segregated campuses with poorer facilities and limited students to vocational training
What is vocational training?
LULAC and the American G.I. Forum helped challenge these segregation laws
Who started the G.I. Forum?
Court ruled Texas has to end segregation of Mexican American students but did allow separate classrooms on the same campus.
What is vocational training?
Who started the American GI Forum?

19. Hernandez v. Texas - 1954 No person with a Spanish surname
allowed to serve on jury.
Hernandez was convicted and said he did not receive due process under 14th Amendment
Texas argued that Mexican Americans were white, so he received fair trial.
Supreme Court said there was a
difference between white and
Hispanic and you could not
exclude from a jury based on class.

22. White v. Regester
Challenged redistricting in Texas, which kept Mexican Americans from being elected
Supreme Court ruled that at large elections were discriminatory and so unconstitutional
Created single-member districts
After the Supreme Court decision the number of African American and Hispanic American representatives doubled.

24. Edgewood ISD v. Kirby
Public school finance case – no equal funding
Since funding was based on property tax – areas with lower property values received less tax dollars
Court ruled legislature would have to change the way it funded schools to make it more equal.
ROBIN HOOD – Money is taken from richer schools and given to poorer
schools.

25. Other Landmark Civil Rights Cases
Hernandez v. Driscoll Consolidated ISD, 1948
Ended all pedagogical and de jure segregation in Texas Public Education
Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD, 1970
Recognized Hispanics as an identifiable minority group and so used the Brown decision to prohibit segregation in public schools for Mexican Americans
Plyler v. Doe, 1982
Allowed for children of illegal immigrants to receive a public education in grade K-12

26. Chicano Mural Movement

27. The Chicano Mural Movement began in the 1960s in Mexican-American barrios in the Southwest.
Artists began using the walls of city buildings, housing projects, schools, and churches to depict Mexican-American culture.
Effort of Hispanics to reinvigorate their cultural heritage
Tried to affirm cultural identity and challenge racism

28. El Paso, Texas

29. Food Mart, San Antonio Texas

30. Christus Santa Rosa Hospital - Downtown, San Antonio Texas

31. San Antonio, Texas

32. San Francisco, California

33. Los Angeles, California

34. Create your own mural Must cover the whole page Must have color
Must have images that reflect
something that is important to
you
IDEAS:
culture
heritage
family
community
religion
heroes