Working in the public school system, and particularly in a school where 82% of the student population is Latino, it is important to not only disseminate the content and the subject area, but also to let the students know that their cultural identity helps them maintain their traits, preserve their cultural identity, and expand the understanding of their heritage. Learning about the hurdles and obstacles Latino civil rights activists encountered while pushing for laws, whether in bilingual education or efforts to unionize Latino workers, will help students to appreciate the importance of the integration into the mainstream society as Latinos have sought equal educational opportunities.
Our students must know that the opportunities they have in the public school system today are the results of ongoing struggles for better chances and equity in the educational system, the place of work, and many aspects where racism and prejudice manifested through actions or mentality. A better way to teach this unit is to frame it in the context of the civil and legal rights of the Latino population. Technically, this unit will explore the Chicano Movement from the lenses of the political developments in the 1960s and 1970s by evaluating the outcomes, key players, and activists who made the cause known and gained national support while fighting to end discrimination in the twentieth century.
