Learning to be Militant: a Case Study in Crystal City
Description:
The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Host Alejandro Saenz interviews political scientist Armando Gutierrez on his recent work on Crystal City and the rise of Chicano politics in Texas schools, towns and universities. Saenz interviews Dr. Armando Gutierrez on his book, Learning to be Militant, which examines Chicano political activism in Crystal City, Texas. Crystal City was the first city where La Raza Unida, the Chicano third party, won control of local politics in 1970. It was also the site of a well-organized student movement, and Gutierrez discusses an extensive research project he conducted in the area that examined the origins of the student's activism. Gutierrez, with the aid of UT students and the cooperation of Raza party officials, went to Crystal City and surveyed over 800 students on their political activism, many of whom had participated in the student walk out protesting the exclusion of Chicanas from the cheerleading squad. He found the students to be very politically aware and invested in collective action. Moreover, the students reflected the city's growing political consciousness. In the late sixties, Chicanos, and especially Chicanas, had become increasingly involved in locals politics. In fact, women were often the first to organize and the most politically conscious. His survey also found that many students felt that racism and inequality were a function of individual beliefs and actions as opposed to structures. Gutierrez says that this failure to understand and address the underlying structural issues reflects some of the problems facing the national Chicano Movement as it attempts to articulate its goals and strategies. Keywords: Armando Gutierrez, Cheerleading, Chicano Movement, Citizenship, Collective Action, Crystal City, Texas, Democratic party, Ethnic Pride, Femininity, Gender, Herbert Hirsch, High School Students, Ideology, La Raza Unida, Learning to be Militant, Masculinity, Minority Faculty, Political Organizations, Political Science, R & E Research Associates, Rural Politics, Social Movements, Student militancy, Student political participation, Survey, Third Party Politics, Walk-out, Women's issues, Women's political participation, Youth Culture. Broadcast date: 1977-03-28.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Saenz, Alejandro (host), and Gutiérrez, Armando (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
3/23/1977
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin
sound recordings, grabaciones sonoras, radio programs, programas de radio, and Audio
Extent:
14 minutes, 49 seconds
Rights - Use and Reproduction:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language:
English
Place of Publication:
Austin (Tex.)
Topic:
Mexican American women, Student movements, Mujeres mexicano americanas, Mexican Americans--Politics and government, Civil rights movements, Movimientos de derechos civiles, Mexicano americanos--Política y gobierno, and Movimientos estudiantiles