Yo Soy Chicano

We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. Some of us are Pショ more than this one, Sino more than that we need. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of.

We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of.

We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of.

We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. We do not have enough books where ouruz is made of. I am a Chicano.

I was born in Avario in the southwest of what is now called the United States. My parents were both Mexicans, but I am a citizen of the United States, a Chicano. In the southwest, my people make up 10-15% of the population, but I have found Chicanos through how the United States, California, Washington, Michigan, Florida. My rasa is 5% of the people in the entire United States, land of opportunity. But in this land that our ancestors settled, we are often the victims of bad education, brutal legal systems, governmental and political exploitation. We have endured. Our survival has come from the strength of my people, from our rich, indo-espano heritage, from our determination to fight for education, for freedom, for peace.

I am alive, illogrito. I rejoice in a celebration of what I am. Yo soy Chicano. Our history begins in what is now the southwest. A thousand years ago, it had a different name, Astlan, the ancestral home of the Nawatl, the Asteca people. An earthquake shakes the land, forcing the Nawattles to move south to the Valley of Mexico. There they find evidence of previous civilizations. They are called meca.

Teotihuacano. Sapoteca. Maya. Tolteca. By the end of the 14th century, the Astecas have become undisputed rulers of the Valley of Mexico. Building upon the previous cultures, the Astecas evolve a civilization of trade, science, medicine, agriculture and religion.

Nizwa Quatl and Nawatl Prince phrase basic questions of philosophy and art in his poetry. What does your mind seek? Where is your heart? Can anything be found on earth? Truly do we live on earth? Although it be Jade, it will be broken. Although it be of gold, it will be shattered. Although it be Ketsal Feathers, it be torn asunder. Not forever on earth, only a little while here. An Asteca legend tells of the plume serpent god Ketsal Quatl. It is the return of Ketsal Quatl, the god of duality, of spirit and of matter, for which the Astecas wait when the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortés first invades the Americas. The Spaniard is victorious. The Native American is conquered.

But from the union of these two peoples comes a new race. Born of Spanish father and of Indian mother, Larrasa. Up to California, from Mexico you come to the sacramental valley, to toil in the sun, your wife and seven children. Working everyone, and what will you be giving to your brown night children of the sun? The fruit of the unity of the countryside.

Because what we are doing in our union is only buildings. Because buildings without people do not serve. But what we are doing here is a organization, a unity, to make the social and economic changes that we need to do, men and women free. But we are here, the poor people, the humble people, the people that are action. We are the ones that we do the history of the world. The history of the world has always been the movement of the people. We have to remember all the time to not lose the soul or not lose the faith. Our union is not only for the galaxy, for the Salinas, for the Baez and Joaquin. We have to organize the rest of Arizona, Texas. We have to help our companions of the south, our brothers of color, the black, who are suffering in Florida.

There is where the key is now organizing in New York and everywhere. And to do all this work, we need our hands. We are people, because we are very few of us. And we are going to see the victory soon, companions. And the most beautiful thing is that we are not waiting for the results, while we are waiting, while we are waiting, we are learning. And we are developing. And we are achieving other programs and developing other programs as well. That is happening, we are waiting for the total victory. And many of the people are joining us, and we are going to the house. We are going to the house. We are going to the hotel. And we are going to the hotel. We are going to the chauvin. Goodbye. Well, the movement was started by C.S. Chavez in 1962,

it was actually an outgrowth of a former organization, a community service organization, in which C.S.R. worked as of 1952. And it came about to try to solve the basic economic problems of the rural Mexican and California, which is the farm worker. He started the movement in 1962. And of course, it's the reason for the existence of the union is to try to get power for the powerless. I don't have any power to try to solve any of their own economic and social problems. You know, they are faced by not only economic discrimination and social, but also racial discrimination. This is true of the Mexican farm workers, it is a black farm worker, the Arabian and the poor white farm worker. The farm workers had a tremendous amount of problems, particularly, of course, one of the low wages, but also, you might say, human treatment on the job, you know, poisoning by pesticides, very terrible living conditions, exploitation by the grower and people in the community that everybody turns on

the farm worker and exploits him because he has no power. The average lifespan of a farm worker is only 49 years of age and the health rate and what have you or so much worse. The average income of a farm worker in the whole country was something like $1400 a year, which is less than what most American families spend on food. Since I started with Caesar, I guess I've been just about everything from being the head picket captain and leading several strikes to also doing such work as contract negotiations, and more recently I've been in charge of the legislation. I've also worked on the boycott, the national boycott from time to time. For the boycott to become successful, farmers had to leave Delano and they had to go to the cities and tell the people in the communities about their problems, asking them to help, asking them to join it on the picket lines and putting pressure on the stores to take the grapes off. And, you know, making the plight of the farm worker known, we were successful because we were able to hurt the employer in the pocketbook. And in trying to accomplish our goals, everyone can help.

You know, the families, the children, the women, everyone can have a role in trying to change the society, curbing the yields of it. And people become a lot stronger when they have to work through nonviolence. And it's the violence is really hatred and racism or extensions of violence. And if we become that, which we're trying to end, then, you know, we are becoming like the oppressor then, if we turn to violence. And we're trying to change those things that he does and trying to set up a different system. At the present time, we have major struggles filled in the lettuce that hasn't been accomplished. We had negotiations for seven months with the lettuce scores, which they broke off and the melon growers. And this would, of course, take the major part of the state of California. And that is still ahead of us, plus the organizing of the rest of the country. Because we're trying to form a national union of farm workers. That farm workers can control the leadership of the union. And farm workers then can have their own self-determination. Your face is light and wrinkle and your age is 41.

Your back is bent from picking like your dying time has come. Your children's eyes are smiling. Their life has just begun and what will you be giving to your brown, night children of the sun? You marched on Easter Sunday to the capital you've come. And you fought for union wages and your fight has just begun. You're a brown man, you're a free man. And this heritage is one that you can be giving to your brown, night children of the sun. In the years following the Spanish conquest,

life for the vanquished Native American is somber and painful. But the intermixing of India and Spanish blood creates a new breed, the mestizo. Slowly a new culture begins to assert its identity and influence in new Spain. In the year 1810, mestizo discontent with a distant Spanish government matures into the inevitable. Miguel de Alguecostía, a village priest, leads the revolt.

The Spanish are expelled and a new nation is born. Mexico. To the north, Spanish explorers have previously settled in land of the Native American nations. The Spanish have found an existing agriculture of tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, a science of medicine and pharmacy, and a unique Native American philosophy and culture. To this, Spanish settlers bring the first cattle and horses, apples, grapes and citrus fruits,

as well as additional farming implements. With a creation of a new republic and the end of Spanish rule, a distinctive Indo-Hispanic culture continues to flourish in the northern frontier. Bakeros, the original cowboys, developed techniques of raising cattle. While Mexican miners pioneer the arrastre and rocking box methods of mining for silver and gold. In Alta California, the 17 missions established by the Spanish grow into larger towns, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco. Throughout the southwest, land grants originally given by the King of Spain to Spanish-speaking peoples are confirmed by the Mexican government. By the 1830s, land in northeastern Mexico was settled by Anglo-Americans who agreed to obey Mexican laws.

Within a few years, the newcomers declare independence from Mexico and form the lone star republic. Despite the Mexican victory at the Alamo, Mexico is weak, torn by internal revolution. What it fears most is war with the United States. In 1846, shortly after the annexation of Texas to the United States, American troops invade Mexican territory. A skirmish occurs in which American soldiers are killed. Within a month, war has been declared with Mexico. The Mexican-American war lasts two years and ends with a defeat of Mexico and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Idalgo on February 2, 1848. The treaty provides that Mexico will give up half of its territory to the United States. The treaty also stipulates that Mexicans living in the southwest may return to Mexico

or become United States citizens. Those remaining in the southwest are protected by the treaty. For Mexicans, it is nonetheless a treaty born of a bitter defeat, a treaty that will be contested for many years to come. Reyes, what made you create the Alianza Federal de Puebla of Libres? To bring justice and help the people and answer the needs of the Spanish-speaking people in the southwest, especially in New Mexico, I had to establish an organization which would appeal to their needs, their interests, their aspirations and their dreams. Since their life was a bind and attached to the Langrens and the Poeblos, therefore I had to establish an organization based on the Langrens in order to attract their attention

and to relay their message, their needs to the federal government, which needs to be bound or bind by a treaty, an international treaty, the Treaty of Guadalupe Idalgo. Reyes, could you describe what happened in Tierra Amarilla? Well, it was a convention that was to be held in Coyote, New Mexico. The convention had been announced and publicized by the media, television and radio for a month. And people from all over the United States were coming to Coyote, but it was the jurisdiction of the district attorney of Santa Fe and Rio River Count is Alfonso Sanchez. So it was excuses that we were coming, it's been trying to take over the land, he confiscated files and bugged the roads and threatened the people, anybody going to that convention would be arrested. Naturally, the people knew the law on their rights. They were angry because they were convention, a legal constitutional right of Freedom of Assembly had been violated.

It was an outright crime. So they went to Tierra Amarilla to make a citizen's arrest on this individual who had trapped upon their rights and deprived them of their constitutional right to exercise the Freedom of Assembly. Where was the district attorney, check upstairs?

Get out the Thomas? Take two prisoners. Yeah yahu, vamos. The raid on Tierra. Hello. Light up the topping and go news. I get ride away on a 500-dollar넷ugh. The raid on Tierra Maria Courthouse leaves two men wounded. A deputy sheriff and the UPI reporter are taken as hostages. The largest manhunt in New Mexico history has begun. The National Guard is mobilized. The object of their search, Reyes Lopez di Herina. The search continues. Later in the day, the two hostages are free.

One of the raiders, Balthasarapodaka, is arrested. In the small town of Canjilón, wild children and other members of the Allianza are held in an open air corral overnight, in hopes of attracting the fugitives. Five days after the raid on Tierra Maria, di Herina is finally arresting. He offers no resistance. Extraordinary precautions are taken in the trial, stemming from the Tierra Maria raid. Di Herina at his eloquent best defends himself. Here I stand, ladies and gentlemen, like David before Goliath. The Albuquerque Journal likens di Herina to a modern day, Clarence Darrell. After five weeks of trial, di Herina is acquitted on charges stemming

from the Tierra Maria incident. Well, this insect was found, it was called Greek, it was found with a lion. And the natural lion is the king, of the Tigres, the king of the elephants, the king of the giraffes, the king of all, and the big animals of the Unias and of corn. And the lion says to the Greek today, for this reason is the king. What do you think? What do you think? What do you think? I think the king is better than the king. If he was a king, he would say that he doesn't care. He says to the Greek. Well, why do you ask me questions? Why do you ask me questions? What are you looking at me? What do you do? What do you give me so much value that I ask questions without Umias? If you want to experiment, test or try hard, I'm ready to fight with you. Now what do you want? And the lion says, fight with me? That's what many times say,

says the establishment. The government, the rich, the banquets. You? Fight with me? That's what the lion says to the Greek. But when they started to fight, the Greek left the village, and they put it in the hole, and they started to get stuck inside. And the lion, the lion, as I said, had a lot of corn, a lot of nails, a lot of strength. They could say, now they're going to take you out, and they started to get stuck, and they started to get stuck in the hole. With very soon the lion felt that they were finishing the strength. And when the blood was coming out, they were fighting. And the Greek, with the broken legs inside, and the lion, and the lion was more angry, more organized his forces,

organized his dreams, and he didn't feel the fire, because he was injured. He was irritated. He didn't know what he was doing. Until he started to feel that he couldn't rest. My brothers, young people, they passed through the land of Maria, and they passed through Mexico. In 1969, Tiharina is convicted on federal charges of burning a forestry service sign. He begins serving a three-year prison sentence. On July 26, 1971, Tiharina is released on parole after serving two years in prison. Throughout New Mexico, Tiharina is welcomed as a hero of La Raza. I have no idea.

I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. If we concentrate, if we dedicate energy, money, and manpower to develop and stimulate and revolutionize justice, and gentlemen, I dare say that history will record that this part on this planet where justice played its greatest and major role was in New Mexico. Well, to develop awareness, consciousness in the southwest, and our people, the Spanish-speaking people, the Indian Spanish, and established the developed and developed the Sh校

America and the Anglo-American can not decide the destiny in the future without the Sh校 west by Ling-ul-Chicano. We have played our main role, our bridge between North, and South America. And the alliance is developed to realize, to create consciousness, awareness of this fact. Major role that we are to play in the future. Despite the treaty of Guadalupe Ildalco, Mexicans who remained in the United States, the first Chicanos, experienced great hostility and discrimination from the growing numbers of Anglo-American settlers. When Chicanos, like Tivórcio Vasquez retaliate, they are hunted as bandits. A spirit of revenge took possession of me. I had numerous fights in defense of what I believe to be my rights and those of my countrymen.

In southern Texas, Juan Cortina fights against the takeover of Mexican owned lands by dishonest men. Esos o rinches desgraciados. It began the morning of July 13th, 1859. I was a young man then. I had just finished breakfast and was about to leave Brownsville. When I observed a sheriff beating a Mejicano who had once worked on my ranch. I asked the sheriff to let the man be. But instead he turned on me with verbal abuse. We drew, and I wounded him in the shoulder. On the morning of September 28th, 1859, I returned to Brownsville with an army of 100 men. We easily took the town and searched out the sheriff and others who were conspiring

to steal our lands. After the fighting, I wrote my proclamation to the citizens of Brownsville and the people of Texas. There is no need of fear. Orderly and honest citizens are inviolable to us. Our object as you have seen has been to chastise the villainy of our enemies. These have connived to persecute and rob us without any cause. And for no other crime than that of being of Mexican origin. Three of them have died. All criminal wicked men. Innocent people shall not suffer. But our enemies shall not possess our lands until they have fattened it with their gore. Cortina's army continues to raid along the Texas border, but is eventually defeated by the Texas Rangers. Cortina settles in Mexico

where in 1863 he becomes governor of the state of Taumalipas. Cristal or Crystal City, as it is called sometimes, is very typical of the towns in South Texas. It's a small rural community. It's got about 10,000 people. It's about 85% of the Hicano. The economy is controlled by whites. It's a small percentage. They own the bank. They own the drugstore. They're the only lawyers, the doctors. This is typical of South Texas, with one exception, the extreme lower real land of valley in South Texas, where the Hicanos over the years have been able to win elective office. So that when I came back to my community as part of the Mexican-American youth organization project, the Winter Garden project,

I had to contend with a lot of the myths and the realities of the self-fulfilling prophecy that Hicano was a tri that failed, therefore, we were doomed to failure forever. The students by this time had already been grossly hurt in that in the schools they were punished for speaking Spanish. They were expelled from school for speaking Spanish. There was no counseling to speak of. They were all tracked into a vocational program. It was an exorbitant push-out rate. Over 87% of our student body Hicano was being pushed out of the schools. So the students were ready to take on the school system and we decided to walk out of the schools. The first day of the walk-out, we had approximately 100 students. We escalated from every day after that to the point that we reached 1700 students. The strategy here was that we would have large

community meetings. We would consult with the parents at each grade level, starting with the seniors, moving down to juniors, etc. down to junior high and down to the grammar school. So that we had 17 students, 1700 students by the end of the school walk-out because by that time the school board had decided to negotiate. After we negotiated the settlement of the walk-out, it became evident to us that we must take the school board, the city council, and the positions of power in the county government. In order to do this, we realized that there was going to be through an alternative method to the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party was too costly for us in terms of fighting fees. We could not afford the campaign for office. The political dates were at the wrong time. So we looked through an alternative of a third party, of a new political party. So we called it La Resonida. Then to comply with the law,

we shortened it to La Resonida party. My name is San Juan Bolinero, and I'm running for councilman Tucson under La Resonida, because I'm convinced that the Mejicano here in Tucson has no representation in city hall, or anywhere else, that matter. And this was very, it was during the Oreo Park issue, during which time we were trying to convert a golf course that is used exclusively by anglos and outside people from this community, tourists and other people, whereas our children have no parts at all in this area. So we wanted to convert that golf course, which is used by these tourists and other people, into a park for our children, our Mejicano children. And indeed in the city hall, we saw that we had no friends over there whatsoever. They didn't care about us. They didn't respect our people. We petitioned them, and they say that petitioning is the democratic way and so on. Well, 2,300 Mejicanos presented petitions at city hall, and they were ignored and just showed aside. And in the way they treated as the attitudes towards a very patronizing, very negative.

In November, the White community had to divide itself in two factions, partisan Republicans and partisan Democrats, with the block of Mejicanos being together under La Resonida. So the tables were turned completely. We were successful in the spring elections of 70 when we filed 16 candidates in three communities in the area of the Winter Garden, which is Southwest Texas. We won 15 of those 16 seats, thereby winning control of several city councils and school boards in the area, so that when we began the Resonida party and were successful in April, almost immediately the idea caught on throughout the Southwest, Midwest, any place where there was a Chicano who heard about our efforts and our successes. I am an instructor at San Fernando Valley State College, and I was the candidate for La Resonida in the 48th Assembly District here in Los Angeles.

And the reason that we ran in this race was primarily to challenge the democratic party. It's a political law that says that all poor urban people are going to vote Democrat, and if it's a Chicano or a black person, it's almost automatic that he's going to simply give his vote to the democratic party. We felt that this was the time to challenge the democratic party, considering the conditions, the social conditions to the people. The argument has been that we can only win in rural area. That is not true. You can win in San Antonio, El Paso, Victoria, Brownsville, Houston, in some parts, Waco, Austin, many, many other communities that are not rural settings in Texas. Likewise, for Albuquerque, Denver, certain parts, almost all of southern Colorado, all of southern state of Washington, places in Wisconsin, numerous communities in Michigan, almost one-third of California,

in rural and urban settings. Self-determination is important because we assume that as a people, as a group of people, have a right to determine our lives, instead of having somebody always making decisions for us, many times decisions, which are inimical, or against us, or unfavorable to us. The race was a very interesting race because we did lose. I mean, physically, we did not win the election, but the democratic candidate also lost. I received eight percent of the vote for three thousand votes. The candidate received the democratic candidate received 14,000 votes. The Republican received 16,000. The margin of victory was the 3,000 votes that I received, actually 2,000 votes. Just 2,000 votes were wanted for the democratic candidate. Now, it wasn't our intention to win it for the Republicans. Actually, the Republican candidate only received the expected amount of votes. That is, he did not receive any more votes

than people thought he was going to get. There are 25,000 Republicans registered in that district. But what was very surprising was that the democratic candidate received less than the expected vote. And the democratic party, I believe, is the most to blame. Because there are the ones that come, the Republicans shine us on. They don't have anything to do with us. The Democrats come in and take our vote and use the people to confuse them. So this is why it is our main target, you know. But in reality, the Republicans and the Democrats are not different. Our belief is that the only difference between these two is the spelling. If we establish coalitions with other Spanish-speaking groups such as Puerto Ricanos, Puerto Ricanos, Puerto Ricanos, from the east, we think we can have a very viable political force in this country. A rasa party made up of all the Spanish-speaking components of La Rasa, La Familia de la Rasa. Well, a solid determination, I think, is extremely important, also, in terms of respect, Alejente, that we have to be accorded to respect due human beings and the respect

due citizens of a country who has no qualms about calling us and sending us to war, and having our children die and shed their blood for them. But at the same time, we're not accorded to respect due their citizens. I believe that the lack of representation is simply the most important problem that our people have here in Los Angeles in California for that minute throughout the Southwest. We no longer accept the fact that we are powerless and need to be complaining about our powerlessness. We know we're powerful. We know we can be organized. We know we can triumph. We know that our destiny is not tied to holes in the fields, but tied to much greater and loftier goals and levels. If we would only take the step in that direction, there is also an example of this kind of step. In 1910, the Mexican revolution shatters

the fondance of the the foundations of the Porfirio de Astirini. From the revolution are to come the great leaders of the new nation. Francisco Madero. Emiliano Zapata. Francisco Pancho Villa. The revolution is to stimulate great masters in the arts. Diego Rivera. Jose Clemente Orozco. David Alfaro Siqueiros. The music of Carlos Chavez. Mexican philosophers and writers will reflect a proud mestizo identity. Josevas Concelos. Martin Luis Guzman. The revolution is not born in a vacuum. It is the product of long years of preparation.

In the United States, two exiled brothers articulate the spirit of the coming revolution. Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magon. Ricardo, the letter from Laiva said that in a week he will have enough men. Is it the right time? The right time is when we are ready. The people are tired in Enrique. They are tired of the oppression of the tyranny. They want liberty. And we must work to awaken the people. If we are successful in taking over Baja California, it will mean the beginning of the revolution. And if we are not successful hermano, have you forgotten the three years we spent in prison? If we are unsuccessful, they will throw us in prison again. I will accept my luck. Now is not the time to make simple opposition.

That has already been done. The tyranny is already well known and well hated in Enrique. The field is ready to yield a much greater harvest. The time has come to act. I will go with Bertol and Laiva. No, we are needed here. We are needed to write, to tell the Mexican people that the day of liberation is near. The entire nation is of volcano on the verge of spouting forth the fire that burns in its bowels. Mejicanos al grito de guerra. Magon's army to Baja California is at first successful. Quickly the towns of Diwana in Senada, Mexicali and Tecate fall to the flag bearing the words tierra y libertad. Within a year, however, the federales successfully destroy Magon's army. And soon, Magon is arrested by the United States government

and sentenced to a 20-year prison term for making war with a friendly nation. Seven years later, Mexico now a democracy. Magon writes a last letter from prison. My dear Nicolas, Harry Weinberger went to Washington last week to urge a decision in my case. He knew that many friends and influential people had asked the government for my liberty now that I am going blind. The Department of Justice told Mr. Weinberger that nothing could be done until I asked for a pardon. This then seals my fate. I shall go blind. I will die behind these prison walls. But I shall never beg for pardon. To ask for pardon would mean that I am repenting. But I affirm.

Affirm that human beings will someday be able to rejoice in true brotherhood and liberty and social justice. I know now that I will not last long in prison. I am old now. Perhaps when I die, my friends will write on my tombstone. Here lies a dreamer. For my enemies perhaps they'll write, here lies a madman. But let no one there write, here lies a coward and the traitor to his ideals. Well, first of all, we started the crusade

because the need for an organization that was completely independent from any political ties, from any economic ties, from any dependency on the government agencies or any resources whatsoever, so that we would be free to save what we wanted to say. So we started the crusade to create a civil rights organization which we feel is now becoming human rights organization. And part of it was social services to help people in every area from housing, food, legal problems, bonding. The other area was that of the cultural level and that was to provide an environment of ourselves to start to teach people to give them pride and dignity and a soft image that was one of a respect. And we've done this by creating our school, creating our art gallery, our bookstore.

And then one of the other areas which we feel is most important is the development of leadership and commitment to the community. We conduct fisherman's meetings to develop this leadership every Wednesday night for the last four years. This is our belief that you can destroy leaders but you can't destroy a philosophy of people. And so we continue to develop leadership. I do teach one class here which is called the philosophy that you kind of education. And what we're telling the students and universities to make the complete circuit from the Vario or from his home to the school and make the complete circuit back to the community to contribute, not to exploit. So this was one of the main purposes to relate the farmer's struggle, the land struggle, the urban struggle. And in doing that, we forgot a lot about the urban problems. And we have to come back and really set expertise, really document and really bring out a strong philosophy

related to the urban struggle. Well, the philosophy of Aslan boils down to the community gathered nationally as a nation. The philosophy of Aslan is one of self-determination and liberation. The philosophy of Aslan is one of unity. And that is the inner communities in our communities anywhere whether we are even in the community, we relate to the total people in the campus and the ranchito. It doesn't make any difference where our one and we relate to each other's one. And the program in the plan of Aslan relates to community control in the communities. If we're in a community, we should control the agencies at service. We should control the swimming pools and the parks and control the recreation centers and control the schools. And those church buildings and churches, these should be controlled by a community, not by a person or an organization outside of that community. We have young people that are developing professionally

and that we are developing professionally to become those administrators, those leaders, and those community people that will teach a community how to control themselves. This is community control. Economically, we want to bring ourselves together to control our own economic life. After the Mexican Revolution, large numbers of Mexicans come to the United States fleeing the unrest of their native land. Their hope to find a new home and better job opportunities. But unlike other minorities who are able to move up the economic ladder, the Mexicano is still to be the victim of exploitation and discrimination. During the Great Depression, job scarcity motivates the repatriation of over 200,000 Mexicans and American citizens of Mexican descent. For Chicanos, the repatriations constitute an involuntary and illegal exile from their own country.

Yet by 1940, Chicanos have established themselves in neighborhoods throughout the Southwest. Others have moved out of the Southwest entirely to work in the fields of Michigan, Florida, Washington State. World War II. Chicanos join in great numbers to defend their country. They are represented in every branch of the military. Before the war is over, Chicanos will earn 11 congressional medals of honor. Back in the States, a different kind of war begins. For weeks now, trouble has been growing between sailors stationed in Los Angeles, California and local groups of Mexican youth. The young Chicanos, whose older brothers are fighting in the war, have adopted a distinctive mode of dress. They are proud of their differences.

They are the zoo tutors, the Pachucos. On the evening of June 7, 1943, large groups of sailors begin assaults on Chicanos dressed in the zoo tutor. The attacks continue for a week.

The police respond by arresting the young Chicanos who are often left beaten and stripped of their clothing. Not until a formal inquiry is lodged by the Mexican ambassador to the United States, are the attacks finally stopped. The decade of the 60s sees the explosive rebirth of our struggle. It is a Chicano alive with an anger for the past and a resolve for the future. While Chicanos at home struggle in the battle for better jobs, increased health care for relevant education and for political representation, they are still called upon to defend their country. Although the Chicano makes up 5% of the nation's population,

he accounts for 20% of U.S. casualties in Vietnam. In a terminal in Oakland, lies a brown body of man, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 17, dead at 17, dead at 27, dead at 27, dead at 31, dead at 26,

welcome home. Welcome along to a heroes' grave. You have done your duty, you have killed and you destroyed. Now let there be no grieving for this Mexican voice for this Mexican boy let her bow record on his name. Yosoi Chicano.

Despite a history of oppression and exploitation, I have survived. And I will continue in the struggle for our freedom. I am Chicano, I have color. American, but not us. When they tell me that there is revolution, I miss my race with a lot of pain. I have a little girl, for the rest of my life, for the rest of my life. I have survived, for the rest of my life. I have survived, for the rest of my life. I am Chicano, I have color. American, but not us. When they tell me that there is revolution, I miss my race with a lot of pain. I have a little girl, for the rest of my life.

I have a little girl, for the rest of my life. I have survived, for the rest of my life. I am Chicano, I have color. American, but not us. When they tell me that there is revolution, I miss my race with a lot of pain. I have a little girl, for the rest of my life. I have survived, for the rest of my life. I have a little girl, for the rest of my life. I have a little girl, for the rest of my life. I have a little girl, for the rest of my life.

Thank you.