Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry

The Chicano Movement gained traction in the 1960s as part of a larger struggle for civil rights. Its primary goal was to end discrimination against Mexican American populations. It was particularly popular in the United States’ Southwest and California, where large populations were approximately 100 years removed from the Mexican-American War in which the United States ceded one-third of Mexico’s territory. The United States’ government overlooked preceding land grants while introducing English, rather than Spanish, as a dominant language; they also pushed for the dominance of Anglo-Saxon Protestant values in a region that was previously non-white and Catholic. The Chicano Movement was, in many ways, a generational response to negative stereotypes and discrimination born out of this significant event.

The movement sought to end school segregation and create equal educational opportunities. Mexican American students went to schools with fewer resources and amenities than did white students. This in turn led to lower outcomes in higher education for Mexican Americans. Similarly, Mexican Americans and Mexicans were often subjected to unfair working conditions in factories and in fields. Austin, Texas, witnessed the Economy Furniture Company Strike (1968-1972) as workers organized for better wages. Labor leader César Chávez, who is most often associated with farmworkers in California, came to Austin in 1971 to march on the state capitol with 5,000 other people.

Anaya’s essay recognizes another fight born out of the Chicano Movement: that of representation within the publishing industry and education system. For the author, Chicanos must be able to express themselves through literature to counter stereotypes throughout mainstream society. Therefore, just as fighting for civil rights is a form of liberation, so too is the fight for more Chicano representation in literature. In that regard, Anaya’s essay is very much an extension of the Chicano Movement’s goals.