"A Study in Chicano Studies"

 
A Study in Chicano Studies Word Count 500 (6 pages) Introduction The Chicano Studies was taken in order to find out more aboutthe plight of U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. Although there are many different definitions about what constitutes the term Chicana or Chicano, it is certain that activism, history, and education are essential elements that define the past of Chicano culture, which will be fully discussed in this piece. Activism My expectations for Chicano Studies were that much would be learned as well as taught, believing that both teacher and student can learn from each other. The origins of Chican studies as an academic discipline really began once Chicano student activismo began in the 1960s. The 60s were already a turbulent time enough as it was, with JFK, RFK, and MLK all being assassinated in the same decade. However, it was due to Chicano rights activists that people who were of Mexican descent started to get treated better in the United States. Ever since then, there have been several political action comittees and other groups dedicated to Chicano rights—Cesar Chavez having been institutional and fundamental in terms of having brought the visibility of Chicano issues to the light. Many Chicano issues regarding activism have been brought on by the debates over immigration reform. Undocumented immigrants are not a “problem”; nor are people “illegal.” In the United States, we have got to stop referring to people as problems and illegals. However, the fact remains that many of these people, who contribute greatly to the U.S. economy in taking jobs that require tough physical labor—are not accounted for when it comes to having Social Security numbers, documentation, or even a place to sleep at night. Their kids need health care and food, and a way for undocumented workers to provide that for their families is through working. The Latino Health Research Agenda for the 21st Century and its implications include that Latino norms are starting to mirror that of the African-American population: their children are overweight or obese, and they suffer from high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and are at-risk for heart disease. This may be partly due to the overall diet of the Latino community, which tends to be high in fat and carbohydrates. The issues covered in “Segregation and the Education of Mexican Children” has a lot to do with how Latino kids are separated from their white counterparts due to discrimination. The name of the 1947 case featured on the DVD was Mendez vs. Westminster, which was a federal case that challenged the segregation of Latinos in southern California schools. Due to many protests over the case and popular support for its subsequent ruling, that formed the basis for the overturning of the law—which had previously supported the segregation of Chicano children from other (white) children. History History has many times favored the white man—and especially Spaniards—when it came to the history of Mexico. In the book “Empire and the Origins of 20th Century Migration from Mexico,” the main issues that are discussed are the historical implications behind the takeover of the Aztec Empire from Spain and how that led to the origins of migration from Mexico after the subsequent impoverishment of the Mexican people. The effect of NAFTA on the Mexican people generally was negative. NAFTA was basically adopted in order to give the United States a competitive edge when it came to trade. It would help the United States monopolize the trade on Mexico. “In the 1990s the United States established NAFTA to further secure its investments in Mexico and to restrict the use of that country for investments by its competitiors. The freedom and security of U.S. capital remained a constant in U.S. policy toward Mexico in the twentieth century.”1 One remedy for NAFTA would be to repeal some portions of the trade agreement while leaving others in place so that the United States could still benefit but it would still give other countries an opportunity to trade with Mexico. Also in history, regarding how white people basically “took over,” there is another important example of this fact. This is now regarding the El Paso Salt War, giving reasons for actions and different interpretations of historians about this issue. White Americans, as long as they were able to make a claim on the land, would get land on which the salt beds of El Paso lay in the Guadalupe Lakes. From a historical position, it could be argued that the settlers were legally able to make claims in El Paso. However, this was before the time of the Mexican-American War, and the lines between the U.S. and Mexico were still blurry. The disagreeement over the El Paso salt flats had a lot do with the fact that Mexicans thought Americans were impinging upon their land. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo tried, with impunity, to settle the disagreement prior to the war in 1848. Spanish and Mexican influence in the areas disputed in the Treaty were diminished greatly after the Treaty had taken place. Education Ruben Salazar was a Chicano journalist that was killed in East Los Angeles while covering the protest of the Vietnam War, to be more specific, the National Chicano Moratorium March.