Chicano Movement

rdf:langString Chicano Movement

rdf:langString Cesar Chavez with demonstrators

rdf:langString Civil and political rights, Overthrow of the US government

rdf:langString Government Leaders

rdf:langString Boycotts, Direct action, Draft evasion, Occupations, Protests, School walkouts

rdf:langString Chicano organizations *American GI Forum *Católicos por La Raza *Freedom Road Socialist Organization *League of United Latin American Citizens *MEChA *Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund *Raza Unida Party *United Farm Workers Chicano paramilitaries *Brown Berets *Chicano Liberation Front *Chicano gangs *Symbionese Liberation Army *Venceremos Chicano subcultures *Pachucos

rdf:langString Government of the United States *United States Department of Justice *Law enforcement in the United States

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Chicano Movement

rdf:langString The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento, was a social and political movement in the United States inspired by prior acts of resistance among people of Mexican descent, especially of Pachucos in the 1940s and 1950s, and the Black Power movement, that worked to embrace a Chicano/a identity and worldview that combated structural racism, encouraged cultural revitalization, and achieved community empowerment by rejecting assimilation. Before this, Chicano/a had been a term of derision, adopted by some Pachucos as an expression of defiance to Anglo-American society. With the rise of Chicanismo, Chicano/a became a reclaimed term in the 1960s and 1970s, used to express political autonomy, ethnic and cultural solidarity, and pride in being of Indigenous descent, diverging from the assimilationist Mexican-American identity. Chicanos also expressed solidarity and defined their culture through the development of Chicano art during El Movimiento, and stood firm in preserving their religion. The Chicano Movement was influenced by and entwined with the Black Power movement, and both movements held similar objectives of community empowerment and liberation while also calling for Black-Brown unity. Leaders such as César Chávez, Reies Tijerina, and Rodolfo Gonzales learned strategies of resistance and worked with leaders of the Black Power movement. Chicano organizations like the Brown Berets and Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) were influenced by the political agenda of Black activist organizations such as the Black Panthers. Chicano political demonstrations, such as the East L.A. Walkouts and the Chicano Moratorium, occurred in collaboration with Black students and activists. Similar to the Black Power movement, the Chicano Movement experienced heavy state surveillance, infiltration, and repression from U.S. government informants and agent provocateurs through organized activities such as COINTELPRO. Movement leaders like Rosalio Muñoz were ousted from their positions of leadership by government agents, organizations such as MAYO and the Brown Berets were infiltrated, and political demonstrations such as the Chicano Moratorium became sites of police brutality, which led to the decline of the movement by the mid-1970s. Other reasons for the movement's decline include its centering of the masculine subject, which marginalized and excluded Chicanas, and a growing disinterest in Chicano nationalist constructs such as Aztlán.