Whenever I see or read anything about the civil rights movement of the sixties, there seems to be only black and white people involved. For instance, the documentary we watched in class today did not mention Latinos, Asians, or people of other biological origins fighting for civil rights in America. Or take a look at how we have discussed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). We have never studied in detail a similar organization for any other minority race. Other minority races mysteriously disappear from context, and I wonder if they were relevant at all to the civil rights movement. After some research, I've identified what was perhaps the second largest civil rights movement in the twentieth century.
Mexican American Civil Rights Movement - This movement began in the 1940s. Like African Americans, Latin Americans were discriminated against. An example of this discrimination was segregation in schools. In 1945, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) won against the Orange County School System in court, resulting in a ruling to integrate schools. Also like African Americans, Latin Americans were charged poll taxes that prevented them from gaining political power.
They fought against this by raising money in poll tax drives, gaining enough votes to elect some Latino representatives in the late fifties and early sixties. The movement was also largely supported by young people. They participated through student walkouts and youth organizations. (Sources: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6582/, http://lulac.org/about/history/)
After placing this in context, I have drawn a conclusion as to why the African American Civil Rights movement is the most celebrated and remembered one in American history. My conclusion consists of two main reasons:
1) History - Unlike other minorities, African Americans have the longer and more bitter history of slavery and discrimination. Even after they were emancipated, black Americans were always at the bottom of the social order. Their more tragic history makes their climb to equality all the more epic.
2) Population - African Americans were the largest minority. In the 1940 there were 12,865,518 blacks living in the United States. Hispanics, the second largest minority, had only 1,858, 024 living in the United States. By having a larger population, blacks could have a larger impact. For example, one of their protest strategies was to destroy city infrastructure by being arrested. Overwhelming quantities of protestors willing to be arrested was essential to this strategy. (Source: http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab01.pdf )
There are many similarities between the Mexican American and African American Civil Rights Movements. However, the history and large population of black Americans make their movement better remembered today.
Have you ever thought about other minority civil rights movements? What are your thoughts about my conclusion?
Great post, Michelle. I agree with you that the African-American civil rights movement is the most widely remembered, and celebrated Civil Rights Movement, in American history because of the institutionalized racism African Americans endured. The only thing even remotely comparable to this in American history is perhaps the Japanese internment camps during World War Two. However, the internment camps lasted only four years, whereas slavery existed from the early colonial days to the mid nineteenth century. Nothing in American history can quite compare to the brutal oppression of African-Americans through the institution of slavery, which is why when this group of people was finally fully liberated and guaranteed the right to vote through the Voting Rights Act, it was such a huge deal. Slavery is one of the worst and darkest parts of American history, while the the African American climb to equality and the Civil Rights Movement is one of the most incredible.
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