Austin, 1970:

Henry Galindo, an undocumented worker, wins a court case for himself and others when a court rules that undocumented workers are entitled to Workmans compensation when injured on the job.

1940: Mesa, Arizona

Juventud says Chicano youths should disprove “the theory that in order to be good Americans, we must forget our rich cultural heritage”, and adds, “we must be fully proud of being Mexicans”.

1928: Los Angelas

Central Committee of the Confederacion de Uniones Obreras Mexicanas (CUOM) issues a manifesto calling for a convention to unite Chicano workers to fight for better wages and conditions.

There are many things that can be said about the happenings today on Capital Hill.

Why has this violent riot of white people been met with largely non-violence, while protests by people of color have been riddled with brutality, court hearings, and tear gas full of chemicals?

What policies are these people supporting so much that they want President Trump undemocratically put back in office?

These questions can’t really be answered unless we accept the racist undertones that some in this country hold so tight they are willing to disparage (and let disparage) their own sites of the democracy they claim to value.  We must take time to think about how our response, as people of color and other non-privileges, will shape the world and our communities.

The Brown Berets are not a movement of violence.  Nor are we an organization of inaction.     What is happening within the organization is planning on how we can best support our communities of color, not to react in violence or undignified ways.

There is change happening nationwide, worldwide.  We should take from this moment an awareness of the inequitable systems of the US, and also watch ourselves be angry and channel that anger to challenge the legitimacy of policies, authority, politicians, and the way we are treated as people of color.  This will bring about true change.

1970: Crystal City, Texas

Massive student boycott of schools end as the School Board accepts Chicano community demands for improved education for their children.

1904: Laredo

Richardo Flores Magón and other Mexican Liberal Party cross into the US to avoid persecution for opposing the Porfirio Diaz regime in Mexico and make contact with Chicano groups.

1968: Trinidad, Colorado

A newspaper reports 300 Chicanos have blocked all roads around Trinidad in retaliation to an Anglo mob shooting of Chicanos.

1847: Santa Clara, California

Californios battle US military forces in The Battle of The Mustard Stalks, the last organized resistance to US occupation in Northern California.

On this day, January 1, 1994, the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, Mexico initiated a rebellion against the Mexican Government and NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) in order to put an end to the exploitation of indigenous people in the area, as well as the dispossession of their land, resources and livelihoods.  The rebellion called itself the Zapatista Army, or Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN).

To this day, the Zapatistas remain strong in their fight against neoliberal policies and the inhumane treatment of indigenous people in Mexico. Though many Zapatistas were killed during the uprising, the Zapatistas are now able to control their own territory and maintain a large degree of autonomy and freedom.

1969

Stanford University Sociologist highlights that Mass Media advertisers depict Mexican-American in a prejudice/stereotyped way.  Director of the Mexican-American seminars at Stanford, Thomas M. Martinez, asserts in his study that Mexican-Americans get unfairly depicted in racist ways in order to promote the idea that they are inferior.