This video is about the rise of a political party called La Raza Unida Party. This party was created in part because of the dissatisfaction Mexican Americans had with another organization named LULAC, league of united Latin american citizens. The LULAC was an organization dedicate towards breaking down barriers in employment, education and health services however, when they helped elect John F Kennedy to presidency by advocating his promises and asking Mexican Americans to vote they did not see any of those promises carried out. People were dissatisfied with the work and this activist group became a social group no longer striving to make the community better. La Raza Unida party sought out to elect officials dedicated to helping the community and advocating for Mexican American rights. The LULAC was recognized and misused by JFK in order to promote in the Mexican Community in Texas because he saw the great influence this group had. The election lead to the people of this community to distrust politicians from both the Democratic side and the Republican side and thus created La Raza Unida party.
La Raza Unida Party came about because of Jose Angel Gutierrez and his peers at St. Mary’s college. The young students wanted to win back their land and their community so they started recruiting high school students. The students noticed unfair treatment towards Mexican Americans versus the Caucasian students in their high school. A young girl wanted to become a cheerleader however in a high school where Mexican students outnumbered white students 8 to 1 the cheer leading team was made up of all white students. The students staged a walk out in protest and demanded fair treatment, Hispanic teachers, and Hispanic teachers/ staff.
The students protest caused social change in their community. They lived in a small town where the social life was revolved around football and high school events. In their community they were able to achieve fair treatment and inclusion. When the young girl was denied entry to the cheer-leading squad the students who disagreed with the school rules formed a Collective Behavior and quickly formed a protest. This a huge social change that defined the Chicano community in that time. The efforts of these students was similar to that of the civil rights movements lead by Martin Luther King. These events are not taught in public schools like many others which leads to the idea that a new social change may occur in the near future. The history of Chicano and Latin American people in the United States is often over shadowed in textbooks. But it is seen that when students are aware of their history, power, and system they can make a real change.
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