AP Syllabus focus:
‘Latino movements demanded social and economic equality and pressed for redress of past injustices through protest and political organizing.’
Historical Context and the Growth of Latino Activism
By the mid-20th century, Latino communities—particularly Mexican Americans in the Southwest—faced persistent discrimination in employment, education, housing, and political representation. Many worked in low-wage agricultural or industrial jobs with little protection, while segregated schools and inadequate public services perpetuated inequality. As broader civil rights movements expanded in the 1960s, Latino activists drew inspiration from African American struggles and developed their own strategies to confront longstanding injustices.
Shared Experiences of Discrimination
Latinos experienced segregation and economic marginalisation in ways that mirrored, but were distinct from, African American communities. Key grievances included:
Exploitation of farmworkers under poor conditions and low pay
Educational inequities, including overcrowded, underfunded schools
Exclusion from political participation through language barriers and discriminatory election practices
Cultural erasure, particularly among Mexican American youth pressured to assimilate
These conditions laid the foundation for coordinated activism, particularly within the growing Chicano movement.
The Rise of Chicano Identity and Cultural Pride
In the 1960s, Mexican American activists embraced a renewed cultural and political identity known as Chicanismo, which emphasised pride in Indigenous and Mexican heritage while challenging assimilationist pressures. Chicanismo connected cultural affirmation to political activism, asserting that social justice required both systemic reform and self-determination.
Chicano Movement (El Movimiento): A broad civil rights movement among Mexican Americans that fought for political representation, labour rights, educational reform, and cultural empowerment during the 1960s and 1970s.
Chicanismo fostered unity among diverse Latino communities and shaped the strategies of organisations advocating for equality and representation.
Labour Activism and the United Farm Workers
One of the most influential fronts of Latino activism emerged in agricultural labour. Farmworkers, many of them Mexican American or Filipino American, faced extreme exploitation, lacking collective bargaining rights, clean drinking water, job security, or fair wages.
The Leadership of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta
César Chávez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW), which sought to unionise agricultural labourers and secure improved working conditions. Their approach combined community organising with nonviolent protest, drawing national attention to workers’ struggles.
The UFW’s most important campaign was the Delano grape strike (1965–1970), launched by Filipino workers and later joined by Mexican American labourers.
This photograph shows thousands of United Farm Workers supporters at the end of the 1966 march from Delano to Sacramento. The large banners and diverse crowd illustrate the national coalition that formed around Latino farmworkers’ demands for justice. Some specific slogans visible in the image extend beyond syllabus content but strengthen understanding of the movement’s broad support. Source.
Strategies and Achievements
The UFW demonstrated the power of collective action through:
National consumer boycotts, encouraging Americans to refuse non-union grapes
Pilgrimage-style marches to highlight workers' sacrifices
Broad labour and religious coalition-building
These strategies resulted in union contracts securing wage increases, workplace protections, and collective bargaining rights.
Student Activism and Educational Reform
Latino student activism surged in the late 1960s, particularly in urban centres such as Los Angeles, Denver, and San Antonio. Students challenged discriminatory school policies and demanded an educational system that recognised their history, language, and identity.
The East Los Angeles Walkouts
In 1968, thousands of Mexican American students staged coordinated walkouts—known as the East L.A. Blowouts—to protest overcrowded schools, racist disciplinary practices, and the absence of culturally relevant curricula.
This photograph captures students and community members participating in the 1968 East Los Angeles walkouts. Signs calling for more Chicano teachers and fair treatment highlight the core demands of student activists. The specific school context shown exceeds syllabus requirements but provides valuable insight into the protest environment. Source.
Key student demands included:
Hiring more Latino teachers and administrators
Bilingual and bicultural education programmes
Improved school facilities
Fair treatment in academic counselling and discipline
These demands reflected broader calls for representation and respect within public institutions.
Political Organising and Expanding Representation
Latino activists also sought to increase political participation and challenge discriminatory electoral practices. Many communities faced barriers such as English-only ballots, gerrymandering, and at-large voting systems that diluted Latino power.
The Emergence of La Raza Unida Party
In the early 1970s, activists established the La Raza Unida Party, a Chicano political party focused on increasing Latino representation at local and state levels. The party’s platform addressed employment discrimination, poor housing conditions, and inadequate public services, aiming to elect candidates who would serve Latino communities directly.
This image shows a La Raza Unida Party march in San Antonio, demonstrating the Party’s efforts to mobilise Latino voters and challenge discriminatory political structures. The banner and coordinated march illustrate how activists built a distinct Chicano political presence. The photograph focuses on Texas, offering additional regional context beyond the core syllabus. Source.
Gerrymandering: Redrawing electoral district boundaries to benefit specific political groups or diminish the voting power of others, often marginalising minority communities.
By promoting alternative political structures, La Raza Unida emphasised self-determination and community control.
Community Organisations and Cultural Empowerment
Alongside labour and political activism, Latinos built community institutions to promote cultural pride, legal advocacy, and local support networks. Organisations such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) pursued litigation to challenge discriminatory school financing and electoral policies.
Cultural and Community Initiatives
Latino activists strengthened their communities through:
Spanish-language media, amplifying Latino voices
Community health clinics
Cultural centres preserving and teaching Latino heritage
Advocacy groups offering legal aid and political education
These initiatives reinforced the central goal of the movement: building communities capable of shaping their own futures while confronting long-standing inequalities.
FAQ
Cultural identity was central to the movement, informing demands for education that reflected Mexican American history, bilingual instruction, and community representation.
For many activists, reclaiming cultural pride countered decades of assimilationist pressure in schools and public institutions.
This cultural grounding also helped unify diverse Latino communities around shared struggles for dignity and self-determination.
The UFW relied on a combination of moral appeal, community solidarity, and national support.
• Religious groups, students and labour allies provided volunteer labour and financial backing.
• Consumer boycotts allowed individuals beyond the agricultural sector to participate, reducing the immediate burden on workers.
These networks sustained the movement even when farmworkers faced retaliation or lost wages.
The walkouts demonstrated that students could organise large-scale collective action independently of established civil rights groups.
They also highlighted systemic inequality beyond the segregated South, exposing discriminatory policies in ostensibly integrated schools.
Their success inspired similar youth-led protests in Denver, San Antonio and other cities.
Latino activists placed strong emphasis on building independent political power, rather than relying solely on major national parties.
La Raza Unida Party embodied this approach by prioritising local control, community-based solutions and candidates drawn from Latino neighbourhoods.
This strategy sought to institutionalise gains rather than depend on external political goodwill.
Fragmentation across regional communities—Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and other Latino groups—made unified national messaging difficult.
Media coverage tended to prioritise African American civil rights struggles, leaving Latino activism comparatively underreported.
Additionally, issues such as migrant labour exploitation were geographically concentrated, reducing their immediate resonance for wider audiences.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Identify one key goal of the Chicano student activists during the 1968 East Los Angeles walkouts and briefly explain why it was important to the movement.
Mark Scheme (2 marks total):
• 1 mark for identifying a valid goal (e.g., demand for bilingual/bicultural education, more Chicano teachers and administrators, improved school conditions, fairer disciplinary practices).
• 1 mark for explaining its importance (e.g., it challenged assimilationist schooling, addressed systemic discrimination, or aimed to create a more equitable educational environment).
Question 2 (5 marks)
Explain how Latino and Chicano activists used different strategies to advance civil rights during the 1960s and early 1970s. In your answer, refer to labour, student, and political organising.
Mark Scheme (5 marks total):
• 1 mark for describing labour activism strategies such as strikes, boycotts, or marches organised by the United Farm Workers.
• 1 mark for explaining how these strategies sought to improve wages, conditions, or bargaining power for farmworkers.
• 1 mark for identifying student activism methods such as coordinated walkouts or demands for curriculum reform.
• 1 mark for explaining how these actions challenged discriminatory schooling and promoted cultural recognition.
• 1 mark for describing political organising, such as the formation of La Raza Unida Party, and explaining how it aimed to increase Latino representation and community control.
