The Making of a Chicano Militant: Lessons from Cristal

by José Ángel Gutiérrez

Book Overview

Texas, for years, was a one-party state controlled by white democrats. In 1962, a young eighteen-year-old heard the first rumblings of Chicano community organization in the barrios of Cristal. The rumor in the town was that five Mexican Americans were going to run for all five seats on the city council. But first, poor citizens had to find a way to pay the $1.75 poll tax. Money had to be raised-through bake sales of tamales, cake walks, and dances...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299159841
• ISBN13: 9780299159849
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

What if it were your daughter?

The Crystal City student walkout was sparked by the Crystal City's school board refusal to allow Chicano students to run for homecoming queen or cheerleader. No matter how you want to slice it, how would you feel if someone told you that your daughter wasn't good enough or pretty enough to run for homecoming queen or try out for cheerleader? What the school board did was wrong, pure and simple. Gutierrez details how he channeled this anger to bring about monunmental changes in Texas, a state that used to regularly kill Hispanics for "getting out of line." There may be disagreement with his rhetoric, or his methods, but denying a large part of the student body from participating in high school traditions is just plain wrong. Read it and decide for yourself. It angered me, and I'm an old white guy with a teen-aged daughter.

You feel the Coraje Chicanos experienced growing up in TX.

It's a book that tells generations born after el Movimiento that it took brave Chicanas(os) to make changes in politics, and education systems. This was done by Americans with coraje (anger) and who took this anger and put it into positive aciton. Having been part of the Movimiento Chicano this book brought back many memories. If you read "Rain of Gold" you'll like this book--it's the other story about those of us who the river crossed us, we did not cross the river. This book should be a must for every Chicano(a) in political science or Chicano studies.