Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

In the past several decades historians have investigated the complex origins, evolution, and legacy of the radical Chicana/o movement in the community. In most, if not all of these studies, the important role that liberal activists have played in promoting significant social change during the same period has been ignored. By liberal activists I mean those who rejected the politics of protest and continued to work for change within mainstream institutions. Some of these activists worked with or were members of Congress and enacted legislation aimed at promoting curricular changes in the schools. Others worked within federal agencies and participated in the development and implementation of policies aimed at eliminating many of the “invidious” discriminatory school practices that limited the educational opportunities of Mexican American students. Others still were grass-roots activists who contested discrimination in education by filing federal lawsuits against specific practices such as school segregation, special education testing, and unequal financing of the schools. Although we know about these efforts those who actively participated in them remain unknown and ignored. Who were these determined men and women that contested discrimination in American life during the years of the radical Chicano Movement? What actions did they take, what means did they use and how successful were they in their efforts? How did they relate to the radicalism swirling around them? What impact did this activism have on their lives and on the social, economic, and educational opportunities of Mexican Americans in general? These are the questions this historical study seeks to answer by looking and analyzing government documents, personal papers of important individuals, organizational sources, newspaper clippings, and oral histories of key activists.