2 Pg Chicano

Karen Flores

SOC 122 MW 5:30-6:45

Chicano

Framing: What was injustice was getting paid very too little money. Many kids were not having education and working with their parents. There was people making up to two dollars a day not making it able to survive with that money. Farm workers were seen as an item more in the agriculture field. They did not show them any kind of respect and no dignity. Farm workers were expose to bad chemicals every day at work. The expectation of living for farm workers were at age 49 and if not having sever health problems. The solution of Cesar Chavez was to change the conditions of workers job, paid, and living.

Political opportunity: the braceros migrants started decreasing since in 1964 the temporary illegal immigrants to come to the U.S. could not migrant anymore. This was making the California organizer took advantage of farm workers because now everyone coming was illegal and stayed here making them take advantage of the workers because they would pay little to nothing, had not breaks, bad living conditions, they were treating them bad, and they were having horrible health conditions that affected them in the future. As the movement gain momentum the political opportunity continue opened. Strikes started happening and two protesters got killed while other were hurt by public and some were thrown in jailed. Strikes started occurring in fields sometimes would even cover entrance of fields, so no one would work causing a conflict with the owner because they did not want worker to stand up and be against them. Owners did not allow unions to get near the farms and created a law that they had to be 100 feet from the land of farm owners. Labor camps did not allow union to step in the camps. Tejerina was an alliance of the movement and his plan was to get all the Mexican land even if it involved a crime being done. On Easter Sunday Cesar Chavez did a strike that took place in the white house. The boycott took 5 years until things changed little by little. Cesar Chavez got into a hunger strike for 25 days and just drinking water for his cause.  This gave a lot of farm workers the courage to stand up for their rights once again. Philippines also walked out the fields to support the cause because as farm worker they had did not agree with the working conditions and the salary they were getting. The alliance said that all the Mexican land that was once their had to go back to them and even if it would require any kind of crime. This brought a lot of attention to the public and later Tejerina got arrested for it, but that was the main purpose of it to bring attention the cause. Later, they made a corrido "song" that brought action and to remember him for the event that every Mexican goes by working in the fields.  Later, Martin Luther King Jr. also took a great place in the Mexica American march and protest they did and tag along with them, but in this case they were fighting for the inequality and how there was so much injustice. Not only did they agree that African American suffer from poverty, but also did the Mexican, Indians, and Asian. Unfortunately, Luther Martin King Jr. was not there in since he got assassinated but Cesar Chavez continued along with the protest.

Resource mobilization: Cesar Chavez was gaining the trust of all the farm workers to later for the union. Radical tactics not only gain attention they tend to make modules seem more reasonable. This is called the radical flank effect. It can lead to superficial changes, such as Tejerina was one that made a great change as well. Boycott included not working as the strike occur. Also, not buying any kind of grapes or any other vegetables of fruit that farm workers harvest and picked up. Cesar Chavez stated, the grapes use farm workers pick up is the symbolization of blood being in each grape and this is why we are doing this. There are some visuals since at that time media did not occur but many recordings and videos were shown. Some symbolizations were flags, posters, and murals that would show the cause across to everyone.