What Is the Civil Rights Movement of Mexican Americans?

There are a few different significant events which were key to the civil rights movement of Mexican Americans:

School Desegregation

The first victory for Hispanics came in 1946 with the federal court case Mendez, et al v. Westminster School District, et al. The Orange County school districts of Westminster, El Modena, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove had segregated Hispanic children, sending them to all Hispanic schools.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled it to be unconstitutional.

Separate Schools

The second victory of the civil rights movement of Mexican Americans came in 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared that separate educational facilities were unconstitutional in the cases of Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka and Hernandez vs Texas.

The 14th amendment has an equal protection clause that says states cannot deny any person equal protection of the laws and that was the amendment referenced in the rulings.

Mexican American Farm Workers

The civil rights movement of Mexican Americans involved awareness being raised about the mistreatment of Hispanics and especially farm workers:

In the 1950s, Mexican Americans wanted the farm workers to be unionized.
There was a union established by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta who organized a national boycott on grapes.
In 1966 the grape pickers went on strike and Chavez started a personal hunger strike that lasted 25 days.
During this time, Senator Robert F. Kennedy visited with the workers and gave his support.
By 1970, the farm workers were able to have the United Farm Workers Union recognized with an agreement signed by the grape growers.

Chicano Movement

When studying the Mexican American civil rights movement you may also wish to review some of the details of the Chicano movement that grew out of it:

Before the 1960s, Hispanics were not a major political force.
A change came when the Mexican American Political Association supported John F. Kennedy for president and worked to get him elected.
When he was elected, he appointed Latinos to posts and paid attention to the needs of the Hispanic community.
With political power, the Mexican Americans could start demanding more reforms that gave them equality and equal rights.

There are several focal areas for the Chicano movement including Albuquerque, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego. As you can see, these are major cities in the American west and southwest.

Mexican Land Grant Issue

Many Mexican Americans have disputed the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican American War. They say that the land that was acquired from Mexico should be given to Mexican Americans as it is their ancestral home.

Reies López Tijerina led a march from Albuquerque to Santa Fe that lasted three days to present a petition to the governor to look into Mexican land grants. He stated that taking Mexican lands in 1848 was illegal.

Other Accomplishments of Mexican Americans

You might also be interested in learning about some of the many other accomplishments of Mexican Americans:

One of the organizations that was founded by Mexican Americans is The League of United Latin American Citizens, which was formed in 1929 and is still active today.
The American GI Forum was started by Dr. Hector P. Garcia and worked on the rights of Mexican American servicemen and women.
The Mexican American Civil Defense and Educational Fund was founded in 1967 to protect Mexican American’s rights. Today it has many concerns and functions that include political issues and training.

Hispanics are the largest minority in the United States and now have political pull.