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Civil rights activism by people of Latin American descent dates back to United States
conquest and annexation of northern Mexico in 1848. In response to severe
racism and forms of segregation that rivaled the Jim Crow South, Mexican
Americans in what is now the American southwest used the courts, labor
unions, and defense organizations like the League of United Latin American
Citizens to fight for basic rights. In the late 1960s, these struggles took
new forms as young activists organized themselves into a movement that
asserted new "Chicano" and "Chicana" identities, that united Mexican
Americans and Mexicans, Indian and Hispanic heritages into a common,
transnational culture and community, or “Raza.” Taking inspiration from
Caesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement, but linking farmworker
struggles with movements for justice in cities and schools, the Chicano/a
movement developed strong and uncompromising tactics that brought it
visibility and important victories.
The
Chicano/a Movement made an important impact on Washington state. Hispanic
Americans had migrated through the Pacific Northwest since before statehood.
Following an influx of “bracero” farm workers in Eastern Washington during
World War II, their numbers grew steadily and had become significant in
Washington State by the 1960s. The movement in Washington emerged in two
locales: in the Yakima Valley, which was home to most of the state's
Latinos, and in Seattle and especially the University of Washington, where
Chicano students launched many new initiatives. Reflecting the split
geography, the movement linked together campaigns to organize and support
farmworkers with projects that served urban communities and educational
agendas. Key organizations included the United Mexican American Students (UMAS),
the Brown Berets, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA),
United Farmworker Cooperative, El Teatro del Piojo, El Centro de la Raza,
the Concilio for Spanish Speaking, SEAMAR Community Health Centers, and
radio station KDNA.
This page introduces the Chicano Movement in Washington State History
Project. This multi-media special section details and documents a generation
of activism by Chicano students and community activists from the mid 1960s
to the 1980s. It comprises the most comprehensive online resource for
exploring this vital history. Links above and below lead to oral histories,
several photographic collections, rare documents, important essays, and an
archive of digitized newspaper articles, nearly 300 in number. These
materials have been created and assembled with the cooperation of MEChA de
UW. Oscar Rosales Castańeda, Michael Shulze-Oechtering Castañeda, Angelita Chavez,
Edgar Flores, Chris Paredes, Cristal Barragan, Francesca Barajas, and
Roberto Alvizo initiated this project and are responsible for much of this
special section.
Timeline: Movimiento 1960-1985 by Oscar Rosales
Castaneda
The Chicano Movement in Washington State 1967-2006 by Oscar Rosales Castaneda
LaRaza Comes to Campus by Jeremy Simer
Video Oral Histories: short biographies
and streaming video excerpts of interviews with Pedro Acevez, Yolanda Alaniz, Teresa Aragon, Juan Jose Bocanegra,
Blanca and Frank Estella Martinez, Sydney Gallegos, Erasmo Gamboa,
Guadelupe Gamboa, Rosalinda Guillen, Roberto Maestas, Ricardo Martinez, Rogelio Riojas, Jesus
Rodriguez, Rebecca Saldana, Tomas Villanueva.
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Painted by UW students in a class
led by Marylou Gomez and supervised by Prof. Luis Ramirez, this mural is an example of the thriving
Chicano Arts movement that went hand in hand with Chicano political
activism. See the collection of Chicano murals on the
Photos page
MEChA and the Brown Berets formed a large contingent in this anti-Vietnam
war demonstration in the early 1970s. See the
Timeline: Movimiento 1960-1985. See also the online
oral history interviews with former
activists.
Here is one of the more than 300 newspaper
articles that we have digitized. Our News Coverage
archive is a unique resource for exploring the activities of the Chicano
Movement of Washington State from 1968 to 1979.
Film: Students of Change: Los del '68
This 30 minute KCTS film tells the story of the first contingent of Chicano students to enter the University of Washington in the Autumn of 1968.
Farm Workers in
Washington State History Project
 This
link takes you to another special project that explores the history of the
farm workers in Washington State from the 1890s to the present, with particular attention to the UFW campaigns that started in 1967.
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Video Oral Histories