ABSTRACT

This chapter begins by noting that social movement chronologies are often contestatory. It surveys Chicano movement's origins, history, and legacy. Most scholars date the years of the movement's vibrancy from approximately 1969 to 1973. The Chicano movement, like many other movements, has a number of narratives and counter-narratives about its origins and decline. The Chicano movement's original aim was to construct a new political subject for the world stage – the Chicano – who sought to transform his subjugation as an ethnic Mexican living in the United States into a persona much more powerful and respected in daily public life. By 1969 articles began appearing in the student movement press highlighting the contradiction between racial and sexual oppression in the Chicano movement, drawing attention to the rampant sexism in its ranks. The increased mobilization of Chicanas in the movement shifted the political agenda to a broader set of issues.