Chicano/a Studies: 50 Years in the Making - LA Progressive

Chicano/a Studies: 50 Years in the Making - LA Progressive

Chicano/a Studies: 50 Years in the Making

Fear-mongering, racist, inflammatory messaging is something the Latino community has heard many times before. This political year there is something different. There is a direct attack by this president and his entire administration upon the Latino Community.

The upcoming 2020 elections are one of the most important elections in our lifetime. This is not by any means an overstatement. A vote to reject the current president and his allies is a vote to save our community and our important Latino institutions. One such institution is the departments of Chicano/a Studies. 

Mexican American Studies

Out of the turbulent past of the late 1960s and early 70s, Chicano/a Studies Departments became informally institutionalized on California colleges and university campuses. The Department of Chicano/a Studies developed out of mass demonstrations and protests. It secured its place in history by the Chicano/student walkouts, and the organizing by community activists. Chicano/a Studies was a radical call for institutional educational change. It was not a call for simple reform.

In the streets, workplaces, and in their homes, students and the community demanded representation in college and universities, relevant curriculum, and minority hiring of faculty. One of the first Mexican American studies Departments was established in 1968 on the campus of CONTINUE READING: Chicano/a Studies: 50 Years in the Making - LA Progressive