00:00:01.126 --> 00:00:02.919
VIEWERS LIKE YOU MAKE
THIS PROGRAM POSSIBLE.

00:00:03.002 --> 00:00:05.422
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION.

00:00:14.013 --> 00:00:17.434
Narrator: IN THE 1940s, IN
DELANO, CALIFORNIA, AS IN MOST

00:00:17.517 --> 00:00:23.773
AMERICAN TOWNS, PEOPLE
LIVED SEGREGATED LIVES...

00:00:23.857 --> 00:00:28.153
EVEN AT THE LOCAL MOVIE HOUSE
WHERE WHITES SAT IN THE MIDDLE

00:00:28.236 --> 00:00:31.781
AND EVERYONE ELSE SAT
ON THE SIDES.

00:00:31.865 --> 00:00:35.368
THEN, ONE DAY, THINGS CHANGED.

00:00:35.452 --> 00:00:38.747
Man: IN 1946 THERE WAS A
YOUNG GUY BY THE NAME OF CC.

00:00:38.830 --> 00:00:40.123
HE WAS A PACHUCO.

00:00:40.206 --> 00:00:45.044
HE WAS A ZOOT SUITER WHO WENT
OFF TO THE NAVY, CAME BACK,

00:00:45.128 --> 00:00:47.881
PUT ON HIS CIVVIES AND WENT TO
THE MOVIES, AND SINCE HE WAS

00:00:47.964 --> 00:00:50.341
SERVING HIS COUNTRY HE FELT
THAT HE HAD A RIGHT TO SIT

00:00:50.425 --> 00:00:54.345
WHEREVER HE WANTED, SO HE
CAME AND SAT IN THE MIDDLE.

00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:56.139
HE WOULDN'T MOVE, SO
THE POLICE ARRESTED HIM.

00:00:56.222 --> 00:00:57.474
[SIREN]

00:00:57.557 --> 00:00:59.809
THERE WAS NO LAW THAT SAID YOU
COULDN'T SIT IN THE MIDDLE,

00:00:59.893 --> 00:01:01.644
SO THEY COULDN'T CHARGE HIM
WITH ANYTHING, NOT EVEN

00:01:01.728 --> 00:01:02.729
DISTURBING THE PEACE.

00:01:02.812 --> 00:01:04.355
HE WAS PRETTY PEACEFUL.

00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:06.107
SO THEY GRILLED HIM FOR
A COUPLE OF HOURS AND THEN

00:01:06.191 --> 00:01:08.902
RELEASED HIM, AND
EVERYBODY NOTICED.

00:01:08.985 --> 00:01:10.987
THEY SAID, "HEY, CC
GOT AWAY WITH IT.

00:01:11.070 --> 00:01:12.614
HE SAT IN THE MIDDLE."

00:01:12.697 --> 00:01:14.491
SO THE FOLLOWING WEEK,
EVERYBODY SAT IN THE MIDDLE

00:01:14.574 --> 00:01:19.871
SECTION, AND THE TOWN MOVIE
HOUSE WAS DESEGREGATED.

00:01:19.954 --> 00:01:22.540
AND THAT HAPPENED
ACROSS THE ENTIRE VALLEY.

00:01:25.502 --> 00:01:28.213
SOME 20 YEARS LATER WHEN I
TOLD MY MOM I WAS GOING BACK

00:01:28.296 --> 00:01:32.717
TO DELANO TO WORK WITH THE
UNION, SHE SAYS, "OH, YOU'RE

00:01:32.801 --> 00:01:33.718
GOING TO WORK WITH CC."

00:01:33.802 --> 00:01:35.595
AND I SAID "CC?

00:01:35.678 --> 00:01:37.472
IS THAT VATO STILL AROUND?"

00:01:37.555 --> 00:01:39.557
AND SHE SAID, "M'IJO,
DON'T YOU KNOW WHO CC IS?

00:01:39.641 --> 00:01:41.726
HE'S CESAR CHAVEZ."

00:01:46.272 --> 00:01:49.234
Narrator: IN THE 1960s, CESAR
CHAVEZ WOULD BECOME THE MOST

00:01:49.317 --> 00:01:54.405
SIGNIFICANT MEXICAN-AMERICAN
LEADER OF HIS GENERATION.

00:01:54.489 --> 00:01:57.909
HE WOULD JOIN FORCES WITH
DOLORES HUERTA TO CHAMPION

00:01:57.992 --> 00:02:01.579
THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF SOME OF
AMERICA'S POOREST WORKERS.

00:02:01.663 --> 00:02:04.249
Huerta: THE WORKERS WERE
LITERALLY LIKE SLAVES.

00:02:04.332 --> 00:02:07.377
THE LIVING CONDITIONS WERE
HORRENDOUS, AND THE CHILDREN

00:02:07.460 --> 00:02:08.670
WERE BAREFOOT.

00:02:08.753 --> 00:02:11.840
AND I THOUGHT, "WELL
THIS IS SO WRONG."

00:02:11.923 --> 00:02:14.425
Narrator: THEIR SUCCESS WOULD
IGNITE A MOVEMENT CHALLENGING

00:02:14.509 --> 00:02:18.805
A LONG HISTORY OF
PREJUDICE AND INJUSTICE.

00:02:18.888 --> 00:02:22.433
IN EAST LOS ANGELES, A HIGH
SCHOOL TEACHER LED THE LARGEST

00:02:22.517 --> 00:02:26.062
STUDENT WALKOUT IN HISTORY,
RISKING HIS OWN FREEDOM TO

00:02:26.145 --> 00:02:28.606
GIVE MEXICAN-AMERICAN
STUDENTS A CHANCE

00:02:28.690 --> 00:02:30.775
AT A QUALITY EDUCATION.

00:02:30.859 --> 00:02:32.986
Man: IT WAS A RISK, IT WAS
A GAMBLE, BUT THE GAMBLE THAT

00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:34.320
HAD TO BE TAKEN.

00:02:34.404 --> 00:02:36.656
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE
SCHOOLS BETTER, TRYING TO MAKE

00:02:36.739 --> 00:02:38.449
THE COUNTRY BETTER.

00:02:38.533 --> 00:02:41.035
Narrator: IN CRYSTAL CITY,
TEXAS, A GRADUATE STUDENT

00:02:41.119 --> 00:02:43.913
FOUNDED A POLITICAL PARTY,
TRANSFORMING CENTURIES

00:02:43.997 --> 00:02:46.916
OF OPPRESSION INTO
ETHNIC POWER.

00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:49.961
Man: RECKLESS? YES.
DANGEROUS? EXTREMELY.

00:02:50.044 --> 00:02:52.630
DID IT PAY OFF?
DAMN RIGHT.

00:02:52.714 --> 00:02:55.300
Narrator: AND IN SAN ANTONIO,
A YOUNG ACTIVIST BROUGHT

00:02:55.383 --> 00:02:58.094
MILLIONS OF MEXICAN AMERICANS
WHO HAD NEVER VOTED TO THE

00:02:58.177 --> 00:03:01.931
POLLS, EVENTUALLY DOUBLING THE
NUMBER OF LATINOS ELECTED TO

00:03:02.015 --> 00:03:04.058
POLITICAL OFFICE.

00:03:04.142 --> 00:03:08.813
Man: BECAUSE OF HIS WILL, HIS
SHEER WILL, WE BECAME A PART

00:03:08.897 --> 00:03:11.149
OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM.

00:03:11.232 --> 00:03:14.777
Narrator: DURING THE 1960s
AND '70s, A WHOLE GENERATION

00:03:14.861 --> 00:03:17.071
OF MEXICAN AMERICANS
DISCOVERED A NEW SENSE

00:03:17.155 --> 00:03:20.617
OF PRIDE AS THEY
FOUGHT FOR EQUALITY...

00:03:20.700 --> 00:03:25.413
AND CHALLENGED AMERICA TO
ACCEPT THEM ON THEIR OWN TERMS.

00:03:29.042 --> 00:03:32.086
[HELICOPTER]

00:03:38.760 --> 00:03:43.640
Narrator: CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL
VALLEY: 23,000 ACRES OF SOME

00:03:43.723 --> 00:03:46.976
OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE
FARMLAND ON THE PLANET.

00:03:48.895 --> 00:03:51.856
IN THE 1960s, WHILE THE
AGRICULTURAL COMPANIES THAT

00:03:51.940 --> 00:03:55.860
OWNED THE LAND BECAME WEALTHY,
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FARM

00:03:55.944 --> 00:04:01.616
LABORERS WHO WORKED THE LAND
REMAINED DESPERATELY POOR.

00:04:01.699 --> 00:04:03.242
Man: THESE WERE
INHUMANE CONDITIONS.

00:04:03.326 --> 00:04:05.411
THEY WERE
UN-AMERICAN CONDITIONS.

00:04:05.495 --> 00:04:08.706
THEY WERE CONDITIONS THAT
RELEGATED THESE FARM WORKERS

00:04:08.790 --> 00:04:13.753
TO THE LOWEST WORKERS
IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

00:04:13.836 --> 00:04:16.214
Narrator: MOST WERE MEXICAN
AMERICANS WHO COULD NEITHER

00:04:16.297 --> 00:04:18.383
READ NOR WRITE...

00:04:18.466 --> 00:04:21.427
MOST WOULD DIE BY
THE AGE OF 49...

00:04:21.511 --> 00:04:25.723
AND TO MOST OF THE COUNTRY,
THEY WERE INVISIBLE.

00:04:25.807 --> 00:04:28.393
EVERY TIME YOU SIT AT THE
TABLE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT,

00:04:28.476 --> 00:04:30.937
THE FRUIT AND THE
VEGETABLES GOT THERE

00:04:31.020 --> 00:04:33.314
BECAUSE SOMEONE WAS EXPLOITED.

00:04:33.398 --> 00:04:35.108
THEY'RE SUBJECTED TO THE SUN
AND TO THE HEAT AND TO

00:04:35.191 --> 00:04:38.695
THE COLD AND TO PESTICIDE
POISONING, THEY'RE TREATED

00:04:38.778 --> 00:04:40.279
LIKE ANIMALS,

00:04:40.363 --> 00:04:41.948
AND THEY ENDURE ALL THE
SACRIFICES AND ALL

00:04:42.031 --> 00:04:45.493
THE SUFFERING SO YOU CAN EAT
AND I CAN EAT.

00:04:45.576 --> 00:04:49.163
THESE MEN AND WOMEN AND
CHILDREN FEED ALL OF US,

00:04:49.247 --> 00:04:51.791
AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANY
FOOD FOR THEMSELVES.

00:04:51.874 --> 00:04:53.418
AND WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE IT.

00:04:53.501 --> 00:04:55.962
IT'S GOING TO BE CHANGED.

00:04:59.757 --> 00:05:02.927
Narrator: CESAR CHAVEZ WAS THE
SECOND OF SIX CHILDREN, BORN

00:05:03.011 --> 00:05:05.847
INTO A DEVOUT CATHOLIC
FAMILY ON A MODEST RANCH

00:05:05.930 --> 00:05:08.391
IN YUMA, ARIZONA.

00:05:10.768 --> 00:05:13.938
THEY LOST THE RANCH DURING THE
GREAT DEPRESSION AND WERE SOON

00:05:14.022 --> 00:05:16.274
FORCED TO ENTER THE
BACKBREAKING WORLD

00:05:16.357 --> 00:05:19.152
OF MIGRANT LABOR.

00:05:19.235 --> 00:05:22.113
TRAVELING ACROSS CALIFORNIA,
TAKING WHATEVER WORK THEY

00:05:22.196 --> 00:05:25.450
COULD FIND, THE CHAVEZ
CHILDREN PASSED THROUGH 37

00:05:25.533 --> 00:05:28.077
SCHOOLS IN THREE YEARS.

00:05:28.161 --> 00:05:31.581
CESAR DROPPED OUT AT THE
AGE OF 14 TO WORK FULL-TIME

00:05:31.664 --> 00:05:33.750
IN THE FIELDS.

00:05:33.833 --> 00:05:36.878
Man: WHAT WAS AMAZING ABOUT
CESAR WAS THAT HE WAS ALMOST

00:05:36.961 --> 00:05:40.465
ENTIRELY AND COMPLETELY
SELF-POSSESSED.

00:05:40.548 --> 00:05:42.592
HE NEVER GOT PAST THE
8th GRADE, AND YET HE

00:05:42.675 --> 00:05:44.719
WAS BRILLIANT.

00:05:44.802 --> 00:05:47.180
Narrator: AFTER A STINT IN
THE NAVY, CHAVEZ WORKED

00:05:47.263 --> 00:05:52.143
FOR THE CSO--THE COMMUNITY
SERVICE ORGANIZATION--A GROUP

00:05:52.226 --> 00:05:56.814
DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE
LIVES OF MEXICAN AMERICANS.

00:05:56.898 --> 00:05:59.275
THERE HE MET SOMEONE
WHO SHARED HIS PASSION

00:05:59.358 --> 00:06:02.820
FOR JUSTICE: A 28-YEAR-OLD
FORMER SCHOOLTEACHER

00:06:02.904 --> 00:06:07.116
FROM STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA:
DOLORES HUERTA.

00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:09.118
Huerta: IN THE SCHOOL WHERE I
WAS TEACHING, THERE WERE A LOT

00:06:09.202 --> 00:06:10.953
OF MALNUTRITIONED CHILDREN.

00:06:11.037 --> 00:06:14.415
SO I WENT TO MY PRINCIPAL AND
I SAID, "YOU KNOW, THESE KIDS

00:06:14.499 --> 00:06:16.751
ARE OBVIOUSLY VERY HUNGRY."

00:06:16.834 --> 00:06:19.045
YOU KNOW, "CAN I GET
A VOUCHER FOR SHOES?

00:06:19.128 --> 00:06:20.588
FREE LUNCH FOR THESE KIDS?"

00:06:20.671 --> 00:06:23.257
AND HIS RESPONSE WAS, "THEIR
PARENTS--ALL THEY DO IS DRINK

00:06:23.341 --> 00:06:25.843
UP ALL THEIR MONEY."

00:06:25.927 --> 00:06:28.429
I KNEW HE WAS WRONG.

00:06:28.513 --> 00:06:30.848
Narrator: A FRUSTRATED HUERTA
HAD QUIT HER TEACHING JOB TO

00:06:30.932 --> 00:06:33.017
JOIN THE CSO.

00:06:33.101 --> 00:06:37.438
AT A MEETING IN SAN FRANCISCO
IN 1962, CESAR CHAVEZ

00:06:37.522 --> 00:06:40.108
APPROACHED HER WITH AN IDEA
THAT WOULD ALTER THE COURSE

00:06:40.191 --> 00:06:42.026
OF THEIR LIVES.

00:06:42.110 --> 00:06:45.696
Huerta: HE SAID, "YOU AND I
HAVE TO ORGANIZE A UNION."

00:06:45.780 --> 00:06:48.533
AND THEN HE SAID, "BUT WE WILL
NOT SEE AN ACTUAL UNION

00:06:48.616 --> 00:06:49.700
IN OUR LIFETIME."

00:06:49.784 --> 00:06:51.035
AND I SAID, "WHY?"

00:06:51.119 --> 00:06:52.870
AND HE SAID, "BECAUSE THE
GROWERS ARE TOO RICH, THEY'RE

00:06:52.954 --> 00:06:55.790
TOO POWERFUL,
AND THEY'RE TOO RACIST."

00:06:57.708 --> 00:06:59.585
Narrator: FOR HUERTA,
A DIVORCED MOTHER WITH SEVEN

00:06:59.669 --> 00:07:03.798
CHILDREN, COMMITTING HERSELF
TO THE FARM WORKER CAUSE WAS

00:07:03.881 --> 00:07:06.217
AN AGONIZING DECISION.

00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:07.885
Huerta: AND THAT WAS A BIG
STEP FOR ME BECAUSE I HAD

00:07:07.969 --> 00:07:09.762
A FAMILY THAT I
HAD TO SUPPORT.

00:07:09.846 --> 00:07:12.431
AND I REMEMBER JUST THINKING
ABOUT THIS, "THIS IS SUCH

00:07:12.515 --> 00:07:14.016
A FOOLISH THING TO DO."

00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:17.478
BUT I JUST REMEMBER, "I'VE
GOT TO DO THIS," AND I DID IT.

00:07:19.772 --> 00:07:21.732
Narrator: BUT A SERIOUS
OBSTACLE STOOD IN THE WAY

00:07:21.816 --> 00:07:26.112
OF CREATING A FARM WORKERS
UNION: THE BRACERO PROGRAM,

00:07:26.195 --> 00:07:29.115
A GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE LEFT
OVER FROM WORLD WAR II THAT

00:07:29.198 --> 00:07:32.201
BROUGHT IN MEXICAN LABORERS
TO REPLACE AMERICANS WHO WERE

00:07:32.285 --> 00:07:34.036
FIGHTING OVERSEAS.

00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:37.206
[MILITARY MARCH PLAYING]

00:07:37.290 --> 00:07:39.458
Newsreel announcer: THIS IS
THE VANGUARD OF 1,500 MEXICANS

00:07:39.542 --> 00:07:42.962
BROUGHT TO THE STATES BY THE
FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

00:07:43.045 --> 00:07:44.589
MOST ARE LABORERS.

00:07:44.672 --> 00:07:47.508
ALL OF THEM ARE BACHELORS.

00:07:48.801 --> 00:07:51.053
Narrator: WHEN THE WAR ENDED,
THE PROGRAM CONTINUED TO BRING

00:07:51.137 --> 00:07:54.849
IN A NEARLY UNLIMITED SUPPLY
OF CHEAP LABORERS FROM MEXICO,

00:07:54.932 --> 00:07:57.101
DESPERATE FOR WORK.

00:07:57.185 --> 00:07:59.937
BUT ONCE IN THE U.S., THEIR
EMPLOYERS COULD USE THEM AS

00:08:00.021 --> 00:08:04.609
STRIKEBREAKERS AND HAVE THEM
DEPORTED IF THEY COMPLAINED.

00:08:04.692 --> 00:08:06.652
Huerta: THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED
TO ORGANIZE INTO UNIONS.

00:08:06.736 --> 00:08:10.198
THE WORKERS WERE
LITERALLY LIKE SLAVES.

00:08:10.281 --> 00:08:14.243
Narrator: THE BRACERO PROGRAM
WAS FINALLY ENDED IN 1964,

00:08:14.327 --> 00:08:18.539
AFTER 20 YEARS OF OPPOSITION
BY MEXICAN-AMERICAN LEADERS.

00:08:18.623 --> 00:08:21.375
Huerta: I WAS ABLE TO GO TO
WASHINGTON, D.C., AND CESAR

00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:24.962
AND I WORKED TOGETHER, WORKING
WITH THE SECRETARY OF LABOR,

00:08:25.046 --> 00:08:27.465
AND WE WERE ABLE TO
END THAT PROGRAM.

00:08:27.548 --> 00:08:31.302
Narrator: NOW A VIABLE
UNION SEEMED POSSIBLE.

00:08:31.385 --> 00:08:33.429
[SHOUTING AND GUNSHOTS]

00:08:33.512 --> 00:08:36.265
BUT THE HISTORY OF UNIONISM IN
THE UNITED STATES WAS SCARRED

00:08:36.349 --> 00:08:38.726
BY VIOLENCE.

00:08:38.809 --> 00:08:42.104
SINCE THE 1930s, DOZENS OF
STRIKES HAD BLOODIED

00:08:42.188 --> 00:08:45.233
THE STREETS AND FIELDS
OF CALIFORNIA.

00:08:45.316 --> 00:08:48.945
ATTACKS AND RETALIATION OFTEN
TRIGGERED CYCLES OF VIOLENCE

00:08:49.028 --> 00:08:52.281
THAT ROBBED WORKERS OF PUBLIC
SUPPORT AND DOOMED THE STRIKES

00:08:52.365 --> 00:08:54.116
TO FAILURE.

00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:56.535
Huerta: WE KNEW
THAT IN THE PAST HISTORY

00:08:56.619 --> 00:08:58.621
OF ORGANIZING FARM WORKERS
THAT THERE HAD BEEN A LOT

00:08:58.704 --> 00:08:59.872
OF VIOLENCE.

00:08:59.956 --> 00:09:04.210
WE KNEW FARM WORKERS
HAD BEEN KILLED.

00:09:04.293 --> 00:09:07.546
Narrator: CHAVEZ AND HUERTA
ADMIRED MAHATMA GANDHI, WHO

00:09:07.630 --> 00:09:10.049
HAD GAINED INDIA'S
INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND

00:09:10.132 --> 00:09:13.094
THROUGH A NONVIOLENT CAMPAIGN.

00:09:13.177 --> 00:09:15.471
Garcia: FOR BOTH OF THEM,
NONVIOLENCE WAS NOT JUST

00:09:15.554 --> 00:09:20.810
A STRATEGY, IT WAS A PRINCIPLE
OF HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE THAT,

00:09:20.893 --> 00:09:24.939
IF YOU BELIEVED IN THE
PRINCIPLE OF HUMAN DIGNITY,

00:09:25.022 --> 00:09:29.235
YOU DIDN'T HARM
ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.

00:09:29.318 --> 00:09:31.612
Narrator: FOR THREE YEARS,
CHAVEZ AND HUERTA SIGNED UP

00:09:31.696 --> 00:09:35.992
FARM WORKERS, GRADUALLY
BUILDING THEIR UNION.

00:09:36.075 --> 00:09:39.662
BUT IN SEPTEMBER 1965,
THEY WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD.

00:09:39.745 --> 00:09:42.832
[MAN SHOUTING]

00:09:42.915 --> 00:09:46.043
FILIPINO GRAPE WORKERS NEAR
DELANO, CALIFORNIA, WENT

00:09:46.127 --> 00:09:48.838
ON STRIKE, DEMANDING
HIGHER WAGES.

00:09:48.921 --> 00:09:50.423
COME INTO THE FOLD
OF UNIONISM

00:09:50.506 --> 00:09:52.133
AND HELP
[INDISTINCT] WORKER

00:09:52.216 --> 00:09:54.552
INTO THE FOLD
OF UNIONISM.

00:09:54.635 --> 00:09:57.722
Huerta: WE VOTED TO SUPPORT
THE FILIPINO WORKERS, BUT WE

00:09:57.805 --> 00:09:59.390
WERE VERY NAIVE.

00:09:59.473 --> 00:10:01.517
WE MADE THESE BIG OLD SIGNS
THAT SAID "HUELGA," WHICH

00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:03.185
MEANS STRIKE IN SPANISH.

00:10:03.269 --> 00:10:06.230
THE FIRST DAY WE HAD A COUPLE
OF STRIKERS THAT WERE BEATEN UP,

00:10:06.314 --> 00:10:08.399
AND IT WAS NOT
A GOOD EXPERIENCE.

00:10:08.482 --> 00:10:10.526
Huerta: [INDISTINCT]
SISTER OR BROTHER!

00:10:10.609 --> 00:10:13.237
Man: HERE'S THIS YOUNG
WOMAN, NOT THAT BIG, LEADING

00:10:13.321 --> 00:10:18.242
A STRUGGLE, AND SHE WAS
CHALLENGING THE ROLE OF WOMEN

00:10:18.326 --> 00:10:19.410
AMONG FARM WORKERS.

00:10:19.493 --> 00:10:21.078
THEY HAD NEVER
SEEN AN AGGRESSIVE,

00:10:21.162 --> 00:10:23.497
INDEPENDENT WOMAN
LIKE DOLORES.

00:10:23.581 --> 00:10:26.042
COME ALONG, BROTHERS!
WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU!

00:10:26.125 --> 00:10:28.252
YOU ARE EARNING MORE MONEY
TODAY BECAUSE THE WORKERS WENT

00:10:28.336 --> 00:10:30.046
OUT ON STRIKE ON
SEPTEMBER THE 9th...

00:10:30.129 --> 00:10:32.131
Valdez: AND I FOUND MYSELF IN
A POSITION WHERE I WAS WILLING

00:10:32.214 --> 00:10:35.343
TO BE A LIEUTENANT, TO
BE A FOLLOWER.

00:10:35.426 --> 00:10:37.386
[INDISTINCT]

00:10:37.470 --> 00:10:40.056
Narrator: THE STRIKE UNFOLDING
IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:43.934
RESONATED WITH VALDEZ, AN
ASPIRING YOUNG PLAYWRIGHT

00:10:44.018 --> 00:10:47.229
WHO'D GROWN UP IN DELANO.

00:10:47.313 --> 00:10:49.148
Valdez: WE WERE
MIGRANT FARM WORKERS.

00:10:49.231 --> 00:10:51.984
AND SO I WAS IN THE
FIELDS BEFORE I COULD WALK.

00:10:52.068 --> 00:10:53.736
I WAS IN MY MOTHER'S ARMS.

00:10:53.819 --> 00:10:56.030
AND LIKE A LOT OF MIGRANT
KIDS, I USED TO SLEEP

00:10:56.113 --> 00:10:59.700
IN A FRUIT BOX WHILE SHE
WORKED, AND EVENTUALLY WHEN I

00:10:59.784 --> 00:11:03.162
WAS OLD ENOUGH TO
WALK, I BEGAN TO WORK.

00:11:04.789 --> 00:11:06.916
[INDISTINCT]

00:11:06.999 --> 00:11:08.709
...ENGAGED IN
THE CONVERSATION.

00:11:08.793 --> 00:11:11.087
Narrator: VALDEZ SOON BECAME
PART OF CESAR CHAVEZ'S

00:11:11.170 --> 00:11:13.297
INNER CIRCLE.

00:11:13.381 --> 00:11:15.132
[SPEAKS SPANISH]

00:11:15.216 --> 00:11:19.804
Valdez: CESAR WAS RELATIVELY
YOUNG, BUT HE WAS MESMERIZING.

00:11:19.887 --> 00:11:23.140
I MEAN HIS PRESENCE,
AND I'M NOT TALKING

00:11:23.224 --> 00:11:24.433
ABOUT SOMETHING FLASHY.

00:11:24.517 --> 00:11:27.103
I'M TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING
VERY BASIC, VERY HUMBLE.

00:11:27.186 --> 00:11:28.604
Crowd: HUELGA! HUELGA!

00:11:28.687 --> 00:11:31.690
Valdez: BUT HIS SENSE OF PLACE
AND TIME, OF WHAT TO DO UNDER

00:11:31.774 --> 00:11:35.444
THE GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES CAME
FROM A CONFIDENCE THAT HE HAD

00:11:35.528 --> 00:11:36.362
WITHIN HIM.

00:11:36.445 --> 00:11:38.364
THAT CONFIDENCE
INSPIRED ALL OF US.

00:11:38.447 --> 00:11:41.826
[CROWD SHOUTING]

00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:45.037
Narrator: AFTER 4 MONTHS,
THE STRIKE WAS GOING NOWHERE.

00:11:45.121 --> 00:11:48.416
GROWERS BUSSED IN NON-UNION
WORKERS TO PICK THE GRAPES

00:11:48.499 --> 00:11:50.543
AND BREAK THE STRIKE.

00:11:50.626 --> 00:11:53.045
[BUS HORN HONKS]

00:11:53.129 --> 00:11:57.091
AS THE HARVEST WOUND DOWN,
THE UNION WAS ALMOST BROKE,

00:11:57.174 --> 00:12:00.469
AND CHAVEZ WAS LOSING HOPE.

00:12:00.553 --> 00:12:03.556
Valdez: IN THE CROP SEASON,
THERE IS A PERIOD WHERE

00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:05.433
EVERYTHING IS GERMINATING.

00:12:05.516 --> 00:12:08.352
THE VINES HAVE BEEN PRUNED,
YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN

00:12:08.436 --> 00:12:09.895
DE-LEAFED.

00:12:09.979 --> 00:12:11.897
IT'S BEEN IRRIGATED, AND NOW
YOU GOT TO WAIT FOR THE NEW

00:12:11.981 --> 00:12:14.191
CROP TO KICK IN.

00:12:14.275 --> 00:12:16.235
AND SO THERE IS A DEAD SEASON.

00:12:16.318 --> 00:12:18.487
WHAT THE FARM WORKERS CALL
EL INVIERNO CHIQUITO--THE

00:12:18.571 --> 00:12:20.906
LITTLE WINTER.

00:12:20.990 --> 00:12:23.033
THAT WAS A DANGEROUS TIME FOR
THE UNION BECAUSE THERE WERE

00:12:23.117 --> 00:12:25.870
NO WORKERS IN THE FIELD.

00:12:25.953 --> 00:12:28.080
Narrator: CHAVEZ WAS BEGINNING
TO BELIEVE THE STRIKE COULD

00:12:28.164 --> 00:12:30.624
NEVER BE WON IN THE FIELDS.

00:12:30.708 --> 00:12:32.710
HE DESPERATELY WANTED TO
BRING THE MOVEMENT INTO

00:12:32.793 --> 00:12:35.212
THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT.

00:12:35.296 --> 00:12:37.715
Valdez: CESAR CAME UP
WITH THIS BRILLIANT IDEA

00:12:37.798 --> 00:12:40.843
OF MARCHING TO SACRAMENTO.

00:12:40.926 --> 00:12:42.803
Narrator: IN THE MANNER
OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, WHO

00:12:42.887 --> 00:12:45.014
GARNERED MEDIA ATTENTION
LEADING A MARCH THROUGH

00:12:45.097 --> 00:12:50.561
ALABAMA IN 1965, CHAVEZ WOULD
LEAD A 300-MILE PILGRIMAGE

00:12:50.644 --> 00:12:54.440
FROM DELANO TO THE STATE
CAPITAL, PASSING THROUGH

00:12:54.523 --> 00:12:59.236
FARM WORKERS' TOWNS
ALONG THE WAY.

00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:02.615
Huerta: CESAR SAID IT'S GOING
TO BE A MARCH OF PENITENCE,

00:13:02.698 --> 00:13:04.742
AND THE WORKERS SAID, "WELL,
WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO BE

00:13:04.825 --> 00:13:06.118
"PENITENT ABOUT.

00:13:06.202 --> 00:13:07.703
THE GROWERS ARE THE ONES THAT
ARE DOING EVERYTHING WRONG."

00:13:07.786 --> 00:13:09.872
HE SAID, "NO, NO. I
WANT EVERYBODY TO THINK

00:13:09.955 --> 00:13:13.000
"OF SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE
DONE--SOME GOSSIP MAYBE, SOME

00:13:13.083 --> 00:13:14.543
"FIGHT THAT YOU HAD.

00:13:14.627 --> 00:13:17.254
THINK OF YOUR OWN THINGS
IN YOUR OWN LIFE."

00:13:17.338 --> 00:13:18.756
Garcia: IT WAS A PILGRIMAGE.

00:13:18.839 --> 00:13:21.342
THIS WAS A
SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGE.

00:13:21.425 --> 00:13:25.304
IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO SUGGEST,
TO THE WORKERS AND OTHERS,

00:13:25.387 --> 00:13:27.515
THIS WAS GOING TO BE
A LONG STRUGGLE.

00:13:27.598 --> 00:13:30.476
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]

00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.562
Narrator: AS HE PLANNED FOR
THE MARCH, CHAVEZ'S FAITH WAS

00:13:33.646 --> 00:13:35.147
BEING TESTED.

00:13:35.231 --> 00:13:37.149
STRIKING WORKERS WERE
SUBJECTED TO PHYSICAL

00:13:37.233 --> 00:13:40.027
AND VERBAL ATTACKS FROM
GROWERS WHO SEEMED TO HAVE LAW

00:13:40.110 --> 00:13:42.947
ENFORCEMENT IN THEIR POCKET.

00:13:43.030 --> 00:13:45.950
[PEOPLE SHOUTING IN SPANISH]

00:13:46.033 --> 00:13:49.954
Narrator: ON MARCH 16, 1966,
WITH THE SITUATION THREATENING

00:13:50.037 --> 00:13:54.250
TO EXPLODE, THE SENATE
SUB-COMMITTEE ON MIGRATORY LABOR

00:13:54.333 --> 00:13:55.918
HELD HEARINGS IN DELANO.

00:13:56.001 --> 00:13:57.503
Robert Kennedy: THE FACT
THAT SOMEBODY MAKES A REPORT

00:13:57.586 --> 00:13:58.879
ABOUT SOMEBODY'S
GOING TO...

00:13:58.963 --> 00:14:01.340
Narrator: AS NEWS CAMERAS
ROLLED, SENATOR ROBERT KENNEDY

00:14:01.423 --> 00:14:04.134
GRILLED THE LOCAL SHERIFF
ON HIS PRACTICE OF ARRESTING

00:14:04.218 --> 00:14:05.719
PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS.

00:14:05.803 --> 00:14:08.013
Kennedy: WHO TOLD
YOU THAT THEY'RE
GOING TO RIOT?

00:14:08.097 --> 00:14:10.099
Sheriff: THE MEN
RIGHT OUT IN THE FIELD
THAT THEY WERE

00:14:10.182 --> 00:14:12.977
TALKING TO SAID,
"IF YOU DON'T GET 'EM
OUT OF HERE, WE'RE

00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:14.645
GONNA CUT
THEIR HEARTS OUT."

00:14:14.728 --> 00:14:19.275
SO RATHER THAN LET 'EM
GET CUT, YOU REMOVE
THE CAUSE.

00:14:19.358 --> 00:14:21.485
[CROWD LAUGHS]

00:14:21.569 --> 00:14:25.739
Kennedy: THIS IS
A MOST INTERESTING
CONCEPT, I THINK.

00:14:25.823 --> 00:14:27.157
HOW CAN YOU GO ARREST
SOMEBODY IF THEY HAVEN'T

00:14:27.241 --> 00:14:28.617
VIOLATED THE LAW?

00:14:28.701 --> 00:14:30.035
Sheriff: THEY'RE READY
TO VIOLATE THE LAW,

00:14:30.119 --> 00:14:31.203
IN OTHER WORDS...

00:14:31.287 --> 00:14:33.414
Crowd: OH!

00:14:33.497 --> 00:14:35.916
Kennedy: COULD I
SUGGEST IN THE LUNCHEON
PERIOD OF TIME

00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:37.793
THAT THE SHERIFF
AND THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY READ

00:14:37.876 --> 00:14:41.130
THE CONSTITUTION OF
THE UNITED STATES?

00:14:41.213 --> 00:14:43.507
Robert Kennedy: THE FARM
WORKERS HAVE SUFFERED IN OUR

00:14:43.591 --> 00:14:47.720
SOCIETY OVER THE PERIOD OF THE
LAST THIRTY YEARS, AND THAT

00:14:47.803 --> 00:14:49.680
SITUATION HAS TO BE CHANGED.

00:14:49.763 --> 00:14:52.099
[CROWD CHEERING]

00:15:00.107 --> 00:15:03.360
Narrator: CHAVEZ SET OUT
THE VERY NEXT MORNING, ALONG

00:15:03.444 --> 00:15:07.197
WITH 100 FARM WORKERS, TO
BEGIN HIS PILGRIMAGE THROUGH

00:15:07.281 --> 00:15:10.242
CALIFORNIA'S SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY.

00:15:10.326 --> 00:15:13.996
Valdez: CESAR EITHER BY
DESIGN OR BY ACCIDENT ENDED UP

00:15:14.079 --> 00:15:18.208
BECOMING SYMBOLIC OF THE
PENANCE PART BECAUSE HE HAD

00:15:18.292 --> 00:15:21.712
SOME BOOTS THAT
INJURED HIS FEET.

00:15:21.795 --> 00:15:25.007
TURNED OUT TO BE THE
WORST IDEA FOR THE MARCH.

00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:30.387
HE WAS VISIBLY IN ANGUISH,
WHICH MADE FOR GREAT PICTURES--

00:15:30.471 --> 00:15:34.933
YOU KNOW, A LIVING CESAR
SUFFERING ON THE ROAD.

00:15:35.017 --> 00:15:37.519
Narrator: AS THEY TRAVELED
NORTH, PASSING THROUGH TOWN

00:15:37.603 --> 00:15:41.607
AFTER TOWN, THEIR
NUMBERS GREW.

00:15:46.612 --> 00:15:48.864
[MEN SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:15:48.947 --> 00:15:51.742
♪ THE PICKET SIGN,
THE PICKET SIGN ♪

00:15:51.825 --> 00:15:54.036
[SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:15:54.119 --> 00:15:57.164
♪ THE PICKET SIGN,
THE PICKET SIGN ♪

00:15:57.247 --> 00:15:59.541
[SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:15:59.625 --> 00:16:02.336
Narrator: AS A CATHOLIC,
CHAVEZ UNDERSTOOD THE POWER

00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:04.922
OF SYMBOLS TO INSTILL A DEEP
PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO

00:16:05.005 --> 00:16:07.883
THE MOVEMENT--AND ATTRACT
PUBLIC ATTENTION.

00:16:07.966 --> 00:16:11.345
[MEN SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:16:11.428 --> 00:16:13.847
Narrator: THEY FLEW
THE UNION EAGLE, A SYMBOL

00:16:13.931 --> 00:16:17.976
OF MEXICAN PRIDE...

00:16:18.060 --> 00:16:20.896
AND THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE--
THE VIRGIN MARY AS

00:16:20.979 --> 00:16:24.608
A BROWN-SKINNED, MEXICAN
INDIAN--SIGNIFIED, FOR MANY,

00:16:24.692 --> 00:16:28.445
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF WHAT WAS
NOW BEING CALLED LA CAUSA:

00:16:28.529 --> 00:16:30.531
THE CAUSE.

00:16:30.614 --> 00:16:33.033
Crowd: HUELGA! HUELGA!
HUELGA! HUELGA!

00:16:33.117 --> 00:16:36.412
Narrator: AFTER 25 DAYS, THEIR
NUMBERS HAD SWELLED FROM A FEW

00:16:36.495 --> 00:16:40.791
DOZEN TO AN ARMY OF THOUSANDS.

00:16:40.874 --> 00:16:44.628
ON EASTER SUNDAY, 1966,
THE STATE CAPITAL WAS

00:16:44.712 --> 00:16:47.756
FINALLY IN SIGHT.

00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:49.883
Valdez: WHEN WE GOT TO
SACRAMENTO, THERE WERE 10,000

00:16:49.967 --> 00:16:53.220
PEOPLE MARCHING ACROSS THE
SACRAMENTO RIVER WITH US OVER

00:16:53.303 --> 00:16:56.557
THE BRIDGE, AND IT
WAS PEOPLE POWER.

00:16:56.640 --> 00:16:58.892
THIS WAS A
DEMONSTRATION OF DEMOCRACY.

00:16:58.976 --> 00:17:04.481
Crowd: HUELGA! HUELGA!
HUELGA! HUELGA!

00:17:04.565 --> 00:17:07.609
Huerta: TO THE GOVERNOR AND
THE LEGISLATURE OF CALIFORNIA,

00:17:07.693 --> 00:17:11.780
WE SAY YOU CANNOT CLOSE YOUR
EYES AND YOUR EARS TO US

00:17:11.864 --> 00:17:13.198
ANY LONGER.

00:17:13.282 --> 00:17:16.160
YOU CANNOT PRETEND THAT
WE DO NOT EXIST.

00:17:16.243 --> 00:17:18.912
YOU CANNOT PLEAD IGNORANCE TO
OUR PROBLEMS, BECAUSE WE ARE

00:17:18.996 --> 00:17:21.331
HERE AND WE ARE NOT ALONE...

00:17:21.415 --> 00:17:22.666
[CROWD CHEERING]

00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:24.668
Narrator: WITH PUBLIC SYMPATHY
MOUNTING, AND THE SPRING

00:17:24.752 --> 00:17:28.505
GROWING SEASON UPON THEM,
GROWERS FINALLY AGREED TO MEET

00:17:28.589 --> 00:17:29.840
WITH UNION REPRESENTATIVES.

00:17:29.923 --> 00:17:32.342
Huerta: ...FARM WORKERS OF
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

00:17:32.426 --> 00:17:33.677
[CROWD CHEERS]

00:17:33.761 --> 00:17:36.430
Garcia: DOLORES HUERTA BECAME
THE LEAD NEGOTIATOR, AND IT

00:17:36.513 --> 00:17:40.100
WAS UNPRECEDENTED BECAUSE HERE
WAS A MEXICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN

00:17:40.184 --> 00:17:44.146
NEGOTIATING WITH THE
GROWERS AND TAKING THEM ON.

00:17:44.229 --> 00:17:46.356
Valdez: SHE IS AN
EXCELLENT NEGOTIATOR.

00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:50.152
SHE CAN BREAK THINGS DOWN
AND CAN ALSO STAND HER GROUND

00:17:50.235 --> 00:17:52.988
AT AN INTELLECTUAL LEVEL
AND ARGUE POINTS, YOU KNOW,

00:17:53.071 --> 00:17:54.740
WITH LAWYERS.

00:17:54.823 --> 00:17:55.741
Garcia: THEY HATED HER.

00:17:55.824 --> 00:17:57.451
THEY CALLED HER
THE "DRAGON LADY."

00:17:57.534 --> 00:18:00.120
THEY WISHED THEY WERE
NEGOTIATING MORE WITH CESAR

00:18:00.204 --> 00:18:02.164
THAN WITH DOLORES.

00:18:02.247 --> 00:18:04.958
Narrator: IT WOULD TAKE YEARS
OF NEGOTIATIONS AND A NATIONAL

00:18:05.042 --> 00:18:09.338
BOYCOTT FOR HUERTA AND CHAVEZ
TO SECURE HIGHER WAGES, SAFER

00:18:09.421 --> 00:18:13.592
WORKING CONDITIONS,
AND AN END TO CHILD LABOR.

00:18:13.675 --> 00:18:17.179
BUT THE MARCH TO SACRAMENTO
WAS A TURNING POINT.

00:18:17.262 --> 00:18:19.723
IT LED TO THE FIRST FARM WORKER
CONTRACTS IN AMERICAN

00:18:19.807 --> 00:18:24.019
HISTORY, AND FOR MEXICAN
AMERICANS, IT WAS ONLY

00:18:24.102 --> 00:18:25.020
THE BEGINNING.

00:18:25.103 --> 00:18:26.063
Man: VIVA LA HUELGA.

00:18:26.146 --> 00:18:28.649
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

00:18:32.069 --> 00:18:35.072
Narrator: THE RISE OF CESAR
CHAVEZ AS A NATIONAL FIGURE

00:18:35.155 --> 00:18:38.951
BEGAN A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN
MEXICAN-AMERICAN IDENTITY.

00:18:39.034 --> 00:18:42.371
BEFORE CHAVEZ, MOST MEXICAN-
AMERICAN LEADERS CAME FROM

00:18:42.454 --> 00:18:46.542
UPPER-CLASS FAMILIES AND
TENDED TO BE LIGHT-SKINNED,

00:18:46.625 --> 00:18:49.878
EUROPEAN-LOOKING--TRAITS
THAT WERE PRIZED BY MANY

00:18:49.962 --> 00:18:51.880
IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

00:18:51.964 --> 00:18:55.551
OUR ELDERS, YOU KNOW, WHEN
THERE WAS A NEW BABY AND THEY'D

00:18:55.634 --> 00:18:57.845
SAY [SPEAKS SPANISH]

00:19:02.057 --> 00:19:04.560
AND THEN WE'D HEAR
[SPEAKS SPANISH].

00:19:06.520 --> 00:19:08.605
SO, THEY'D SAY, "LOOK
AT THAT PRETTY BABY.

00:19:08.689 --> 00:19:09.857
"IT'S GOT BLUE EYES.

00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:12.442
IT'S SO WHITE. IT'S SO
PRETTY," AND THEN THE OTHER

00:19:12.526 --> 00:19:16.446
BABY, ANOTHER COUSIN IN THE
FAMILY, "OH, TOO BAD, MAN.

00:19:16.530 --> 00:19:19.533
HE CAME OUT DARK.
HE LOOKS LIKE AN INDIAN."

00:19:19.616 --> 00:19:23.662
THERE WAS A SELF-HATE THAT
WAS EMBEDDED IN THAT.

00:19:23.745 --> 00:19:26.164
Narrator: BUT AFTER CESAR
CHAVEZ, SOME OF THOSE

00:19:26.248 --> 00:19:29.251
PREJUDICES BEGAN TO ERODE.

00:19:29.334 --> 00:19:31.962
Man: HE HAD BECOME PRETTY
MUCH A NATIONAL ICON.

00:19:32.045 --> 00:19:35.632
AND WE LOVED HIM BECAUSE HE
DRESSED THE PART LIKE WE DID.

00:19:35.716 --> 00:19:39.428
NO SUIT AND TIE, NO BRYLCREEM,
NO AFTERSHAVE,

00:19:39.511 --> 00:19:40.762
PURO INDIO.

00:19:40.846 --> 00:19:46.143
SOFT SPOKEN, KHAKI PANTS AND
A FLANNEL SHIRT, MIXED-BLOOD.

00:19:46.226 --> 00:19:49.938
THIS IS WHO WE ARE.
WE ARE AMERICA.

00:19:52.190 --> 00:19:55.652
Narrator: BUT IN MID-1960s LOS
ANGELES, THE LARGEST LATINO

00:19:55.736 --> 00:19:58.947
COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES
SEEMED DESTINED TO REMAIN

00:19:59.031 --> 00:20:02.910
IN SOCIETY'S UNDERCLASS.

00:20:02.993 --> 00:20:07.873
130,000 MEXICAN AMERICANS WERE
ATTENDING L.A. PUBLIC SCHOOLS,

00:20:07.956 --> 00:20:10.125
BUT THEIR GRADUATION RATE
WAS ONE OF THE LOWEST

00:20:10.208 --> 00:20:11.585
IN THE COUNTRY.

00:20:11.668 --> 00:20:14.671
IT HAD BEEN THAT
WAY FOR GENERATIONS.

00:20:16.465 --> 00:20:20.135
AT BELMONT HIGH, SAL CASTRO--
AN EAST L.A. NATIVE--HAD

00:20:20.218 --> 00:20:24.181
LANDED A JOB TEACHING
SOCIAL STUDIES.

00:20:24.264 --> 00:20:26.475
AFTER ONLY A FEW WEEKS,
HE NOTICED SOMETHING

00:20:26.558 --> 00:20:29.561
ABOUT THE STUDENT BODY THAT
CONCERNED HIM AND APPROACHED

00:20:29.645 --> 00:20:31.021
THE PRINCIPAL.

00:20:31.104 --> 00:20:33.023
I SAID, "MRS. LORD"--I STILL
REMEMBER HER NAME--I SAID,

00:20:33.106 --> 00:20:35.359
"MRS. LORD, YOU KNOW, THERE'S
A LOT OF MEXICAN KIDS HERE.

00:20:35.442 --> 00:20:36.860
"THEY'RE NOT IN
STUDENT COUNCIL.

00:20:36.944 --> 00:20:40.948
"THEY'RE NOT PARTICIPATING IN
SOME OF THE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS.

00:20:41.031 --> 00:20:42.699
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

00:20:42.783 --> 00:20:43.825
SHE SAYS, "YOU KNOW WHAT?

00:20:43.909 --> 00:20:45.327
YOU KNOW, THE KIDS
ARE PARTICIPATING."

00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:47.245
I SAID, "NO, MA'AM,
THAT'S NOT TRUE.

00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:48.455
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THIS."

00:20:48.538 --> 00:20:50.832
"MR. CASTRO," SHE
SAYS, "LET ME CHECK."

00:20:50.916 --> 00:20:55.504
SO THEN, SHE CALLS ME BACK AND
SHE SAYS, "MR. CASTRO, LOOK.

00:20:55.587 --> 00:20:59.883
"MEXICANS HAVE A VERY
CHARMING PASSIVITY.

00:20:59.967 --> 00:21:03.845
YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO TAKE
THAT AWAY FROM THEM, DO YOU?"

00:21:03.929 --> 00:21:05.305
Narrator: CASTRO
WAS DISHEARTENED

00:21:05.389 --> 00:21:07.391
BUT HARDLY SURPRISED.

00:21:07.474 --> 00:21:11.770
THE SITUATION IN THE SCHOOL
SEEMED ALL TOO FAMILIAR.

00:21:13.689 --> 00:21:17.442
WHEN SAL WAS ONLY TWO, IN
1935, HIS FATHER HAD BEEN

00:21:17.526 --> 00:21:21.154
FORCED TO LEAVE L.A. AND
RETURN TO MEXICO--ONE OF

00:21:21.238 --> 00:21:24.449
ABOUT HALF A MILLION MEXICANS
AND THEIR U.S.-BORN CHILDREN

00:21:24.533 --> 00:21:27.744
DEPORTED DURING THE
GREAT DEPRESSION.

00:21:27.828 --> 00:21:29.788
Castro: THE IDEA WAS THAT
MEXICANS WERE CAUSING

00:21:29.871 --> 00:21:31.039
THE DEPRESSION.

00:21:31.123 --> 00:21:32.499
PEOPLE WERE OUT OF WORK
BECAUSE OF THESE GODDAMN

00:21:32.582 --> 00:21:38.547
MEXICANS, SO THEY STARTED
ROUNDING MEXICANS UP.

00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:40.716
Narrator: WITH HIS FAMILY
DIVIDED, CASTRO SPENT HIS

00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.511
CHILDHOOD GOING BACK AND FORTH
BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE U.S.

00:21:44.594 --> 00:21:49.516
BEFORE ATTENDING SCHOOL
IN EAST LOS ANGELES.

00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:51.393
Castro: AS I CAME BACK UP TO
THE UNITED STATES AND

00:21:51.476 --> 00:21:54.187
STARTED SCHOOL HERE,
I SPOKE MOSTLY SPANISH,

00:21:54.271 --> 00:21:57.107
AND THE TEACHER COULD NOT
UNDERSTAND ME, SO I SAT

00:21:57.190 --> 00:21:58.525
IN THE CORNER.

00:21:58.608 --> 00:22:01.987
THEY WERE EVEN SWATTING
KIDS FOR SPEAKING SPANISH.

00:22:02.070 --> 00:22:04.197
AND WORST OF ALL, YOUR
PARENTS SPOKE SPANISH.

00:22:04.281 --> 00:22:06.074
MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING
WRONG WITH YOUR PARENTS.

00:22:06.158 --> 00:22:10.287
THAT'S REALLY A PSYCHOLOGICAL
WHIPPING THAT THESE FOLKS DID

00:22:10.370 --> 00:22:12.914
NOT UNDERSTAND, OR IF THEY
UNDERSTOOD IT, THEY DIDN'T

00:22:12.998 --> 00:22:15.208
GIVE A DAMN.

00:22:15.292 --> 00:22:17.502
Narrator: NOW AS A TEACHER,
CASTRO COULD SEE THAT LITTLE

00:22:17.586 --> 00:22:21.173
HAD CHANGED--MOST MEXICAN-
AMERICAN STUDENTS WERE

00:22:21.256 --> 00:22:24.426
DIRECTED AWAY FROM
ACADEMIC CLASSES AND INTO

00:22:24.509 --> 00:22:26.636
VOCATIONAL TRAINING.

00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:29.473
Man: WHEN I WAS IN HIGH
SCHOOL, I WAS ASKED, "WHAT

00:22:29.556 --> 00:22:30.974
DOES YOUR FATHER DO
FOR A LIVING?"

00:22:31.058 --> 00:22:33.268
AND I SAID, "WELL, HE WORKS
WITH HIS HANDS--CONSTRUCTION,

00:22:33.351 --> 00:22:37.355
CHEAP LABOR, PICK AND SHOVEL
KIND OF JOB," AND SHE TOLD ME--

00:22:37.439 --> 00:22:40.442
SHE WAS A WHITE WOMAN--SHE
TOLD ME, "OH, THAT IS A VERY

00:22:40.525 --> 00:22:41.651
"HONORABLE PROFESSION.

00:22:41.735 --> 00:22:44.112
YOU SHOULD FOLLOW IN
YOUR FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS."

00:22:44.196 --> 00:22:49.242
I WAS TOLD SPECIFICALLY IN
A GEOMETRY CLASS, WHEN I GOT UP

00:22:49.326 --> 00:22:54.623
TO ASK A QUESTION, "OH, PAULA,
WHY ARE YOU EVEN BOTHERING?

00:22:54.706 --> 00:22:57.292
"WE ALL KNOW YOU'RE NOT
GOING TO GO TO COLLEGE.

00:22:57.375 --> 00:22:59.336
"YOU'RE GOING TO BE PREGNANT
BY THE END OF SUMMER LIKE THE

00:22:59.419 --> 00:23:01.505
REST OF YOUR GIRLFRIENDS."

00:23:03.548 --> 00:23:05.967
Narrator: EVERY YEAR, ABOUT
HALF OF ALL MEXICAN-AMERICAN

00:23:06.051 --> 00:23:09.763
STUDENTS IN LOS ANGELES
SCHOOLS DROPPED OUT.

00:23:09.846 --> 00:23:13.558
BARELY ONE IN A THOUSAND
ATTAINED A COLLEGE DEGREE.

00:23:15.060 --> 00:23:18.105
CASTRO SET OUT TO TRANSFORM
THESE DIRE STATISTICS BY

00:23:18.188 --> 00:23:21.900
INSTILLING IN HIS STUDENTS
A SENSE OF PRIDE.

00:23:23.902 --> 00:23:31.201
HE MADE ME FEEL LIKE LOVING
MEXICAN CULTURE AND OUR OWN

00:23:31.284 --> 00:23:37.541
HERITAGE WAS ACTUALLY COOL,
AND THAT WAS BOTH UNSETTLING

00:23:37.624 --> 00:23:42.045
AND REVOLUTIONARY
AND EXCITING.

00:23:42.129 --> 00:23:44.881
Narrator: AS STUDENTS LEARNED
ABOUT MEXICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY

00:23:44.965 --> 00:23:48.218
AND THE INDIGENOUS ROOTS OF
THEIR CULTURE, MANY BEGAN

00:23:48.301 --> 00:23:53.849
ADOPTING A NEW NAME FOR
THEMSELVES: CHICANO.

00:23:53.932 --> 00:23:57.686
Esparza: WHEN WE IDENTIFIED
WITH THE WORD "CHICANO," OUR

00:23:57.769 --> 00:24:02.023
UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD WAS
THAT IT WAS THE SAME WORD THAT

00:24:02.107 --> 00:24:06.486
IS THE ROOT WORD FOR
MEXICO, WHICH WAS THE NAME

00:24:06.570 --> 00:24:14.077
OF THE AZTEC INDIANS, AND THEIR
NAME WAS MEXICA, NOT AZTEC.

00:24:14.161 --> 00:24:16.580
THAT'S WHAT THE
SPANIARDS CALLED THEM.

00:24:16.663 --> 00:24:22.419
MEXICA, AND YOU DROP OFF THAT
WEAK FIRST SYLLABLE, "ME,"

00:24:22.502 --> 00:24:29.301
AND YOU GET "'XICA" AND THAT
BECOMES CHICANO, MEXICANO,

00:24:29.384 --> 00:24:31.595
AND THAT'S WHO WE WERE.

00:24:32.971 --> 00:24:35.390
Narrator: WITH THIS NEW
AWARENESS OF IDENTITY CAME

00:24:35.473 --> 00:24:37.642
A HEIGHTENED SENSE
OF SELF-WORTH,

00:24:37.726 --> 00:24:40.562
WHICH SAL CASTRO REINFORCED.

00:24:40.645 --> 00:24:43.607
Garcia: WHAT HE WAS ABLE TO DO
WITH HIS STUDENTS WAS TO GIVE

00:24:43.690 --> 00:24:46.526
THEM A SENSE THAT THEY
WEREN'T THE PROBLEM.

00:24:46.610 --> 00:24:48.778
IT WAS THE SCHOOLS
THAT WERE THE PROBLEM.

00:24:48.862 --> 00:24:50.447
AND WHEN THEY BEGAN
TO UNDERSTAND THAT

00:24:50.530 --> 00:24:52.532
IN THE DIALOGUE THAT THEY
WOULD HAVE WITH SAL, BOTH

00:24:52.616 --> 00:24:55.952
IN AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOMS,
THAT EMPOWERED THEM.

00:24:56.036 --> 00:24:58.288
SO WE STARTED TO GET THAT
THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG,

00:24:58.371 --> 00:25:00.957
AND WE WERE LOOKING AT THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS

00:25:01.041 --> 00:25:06.087
MOVEMENT, AND WE UNDERSTOOD
THAT IT WASN'T THEIR CIVIL

00:25:06.171 --> 00:25:10.926
RIGHTS MOVEMENT, IT WAS
A CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

00:25:11.009 --> 00:25:14.137
IT INCLUDED EVERYBODY.

00:25:14.221 --> 00:25:17.724
Narrator: BY 1967, WITH
MARTIN LUTHER KING ORGANIZING

00:25:17.807 --> 00:25:23.772
IN THE SOUTH AND CESAR CHAVEZ
ORGANIZING IN CALIFORNIA, SAL

00:25:23.855 --> 00:25:27.108
CASTRO BEGAN LOOKING FOR
WAYS TO ORGANIZE STUDENTS

00:25:27.192 --> 00:25:29.778
IN EAST L.A.

00:25:29.861 --> 00:25:32.656
Castro: I WENT TO SEE MY
FATHER, AND I SAID, "WHAT DO

00:25:32.739 --> 00:25:33.615
"YOU THINK, DAD?

00:25:33.698 --> 00:25:34.783
WHAT DO YOU THINK
I SHOULD DO?"

00:25:34.866 --> 00:25:37.702
HE SAID, "HUELGA, M'IJO.
HUELGA."

00:25:37.786 --> 00:25:39.496
THAT'S ALL HE SAID.

00:25:41.665 --> 00:25:44.834
Narrator: CASTRO DETERMINED TO
ORGANIZE A HUELGA, A STUDENT

00:25:44.918 --> 00:25:49.172
STRIKE OF AS MANY
SCHOOLS AS POSSIBLE.

00:25:49.256 --> 00:25:51.633
STUDENTS DREW UP A LIST OF
DEMANDS THAT INCLUDED HAVING

00:25:51.716 --> 00:25:55.345
CLASSES IN MEXICAN-AMERICAN
HISTORY AND HIRING MORE

00:25:55.428 --> 00:25:57.764
LATINO TEACHERS.

00:25:57.847 --> 00:26:00.934
CASTRO ENLISTED RECENT
GRADUATES TO HELP.

00:26:01.017 --> 00:26:04.312
Muñoz: HE SAID, "THERE'S KIDS
TODAY IN THE SCHOOLS THAT I'M

00:26:04.396 --> 00:26:07.023
TEACHING THAT ARE GOING
THROUGH THE SAME EXPERIENCE

00:26:07.107 --> 00:26:11.653
THAT YOU GUYS DID, THAT I
DID," HE SAID, "AND I WANT

00:26:11.736 --> 00:26:14.781
YOUR HELP TO BRING
IT TO A STOP."

00:26:14.864 --> 00:26:20.954
Esparza: THE WORD STARTED TO
CIRCULATE, "WALKOUT, WALKOUT.

00:26:21.037 --> 00:26:23.331
LET'S BOYCOTT SCHOOL."

00:26:23.415 --> 00:26:27.919
AND WE SLOWLY PLANNED THIS OUT
CAMPUS BY CAMPUS OVER

00:26:28.003 --> 00:26:31.214
A SIX-MONTH PERIOD,
AND WE SET A DATE.

00:26:31.298 --> 00:26:36.219
MARCH THE 6th, 1968.

00:26:36.303 --> 00:26:41.516
Woman: I WAS SCARED,
EXCITED, NERVOUS.

00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:45.228
MY MOTHER TOLD ME "I'LL
MEET YOU IN FRONT OF SCHOOL.

00:26:45.312 --> 00:26:46.563
LOOK FOR ME."

00:26:46.646 --> 00:26:50.317
SO THAT REALLY EMPOWERED ME.

00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:53.194
Esparza: I GOT TO LINCOLN HIGH
SCHOOL, AND I KNEW THAT OTHERS

00:26:53.278 --> 00:26:54.529
WERE AT ROOSEVELT.

00:26:54.612 --> 00:26:56.698
WE HAD ALL COORDINATED,
AND OTHERS WERE AT GARFIELD,

00:26:56.781 --> 00:26:59.075
AND SOME WERE AT WILSON.

00:26:59.159 --> 00:27:01.870
BELMONT WAS READY AS WELL.

00:27:01.953 --> 00:27:06.708
Crisostomo: I REMEMBER
BEING REALLY NERVOUS AND NOT

00:27:06.791 --> 00:27:07.876
KNOWING, "CAN I DO THIS?

00:27:07.959 --> 00:27:09.836
"WHAT IF I'M THE ONLY ONE
WHO GETS UP TO DO THIS?

00:27:09.919 --> 00:27:11.463
CAN I REALLY DO THIS?"

00:27:11.546 --> 00:27:15.258
AND YOU KNOW, THE
TIME CAME--10:00.

00:27:15.342 --> 00:27:19.929
AND I RUSHED ONTO CAMPUS,
AND NOBODY WAS WALKING OUT.

00:27:20.013 --> 00:27:22.724
AND I STARTED YELLING UP
AND DOWN THE HALLWAYS,

00:27:22.807 --> 00:27:25.477
"WALKOUT! WALKOUT! WALKOUT!"

00:27:25.560 --> 00:27:30.732
I STOOD UP AND WALKED
OUT OF THE CLASSROOM.

00:27:30.815 --> 00:27:34.194
I WAS AFRAID TO LOOK BEHIND
ME TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE

00:27:34.277 --> 00:27:36.571
WAS COMING.

00:27:36.654 --> 00:27:42.077
AND THEN THE DOORS
STARTED TO FLING OPEN.

00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:44.954
AND THE STUDENTS
JUST RUSHED OUT.

00:27:51.378 --> 00:27:53.963
Crisostomo: THE ROAR OF THEIR
FOOTSTEPS ALL COMING DOWN

00:27:54.047 --> 00:27:57.592
THE STAIRWELL WHERE I WAS...

00:27:57.675 --> 00:27:59.135
THAT WAS EXCITING.

00:27:59.219 --> 00:28:02.180
[CROWD SHOUTING]

00:28:11.147 --> 00:28:12.816
Crisostomo: ALL I REMEMBER
WAS, "OK, I GOTTA GO TO

00:28:12.899 --> 00:28:15.151
THE FRONT GATE 'CAUSE
THAT'S WHERE MOM IS."

00:28:15.235 --> 00:28:17.112
AND THERE SHE WAS.

00:28:17.195 --> 00:28:21.449
AS ALL OF THE
STUDENTS CAME OUT,

00:28:21.533 --> 00:28:24.119
I PICKETED LINCOLN HIGH
SCHOOL WITH MY MOTHER.

00:28:27.205 --> 00:28:29.374
Muñoz: OVER A THOUSAND KIDS,
YOU KNOW, WERE--WERE OUT

00:28:29.457 --> 00:28:32.377
THERE, AND THE MORE WE
MARCHED, AND THOSE OF US

00:28:32.460 --> 00:28:34.337
IN THE FRONT, WE LOOKED
BACKED AND WOW.

00:28:34.421 --> 00:28:37.090
"LOOK AT ALL--LOOK AT ALL
THESE KIDS" AND PARENTS COMING

00:28:37.173 --> 00:28:39.676
OUT AND JOINING THEM.

00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:43.513
Castro: IT WAS A VERY
EMOTIONAL TIME FOR ME.

00:28:43.596 --> 00:28:46.015
DAMN, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

00:28:49.644 --> 00:28:53.857
Narrator: BY THE END OF THE
DAY, MARCH 6th, 1968, SOME

00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:57.277
10,000 STUDENTS HAD PEACEFULLY
WALKED OUT OF FOUR EAST LOS

00:28:57.360 --> 00:29:01.364
ANGELES HIGH SCHOOLS.

00:29:01.448 --> 00:29:03.324
BUT TENSIONS WERE
HIGH IN THE CITY.

00:29:03.408 --> 00:29:05.827
RACE RIOTS HAD ERUPTED ALL
ACROSS AMERICA THE YEAR

00:29:05.910 --> 00:29:09.164
BEFORE, AND WHEN STUDENTS AT
ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL WALKED

00:29:09.247 --> 00:29:13.751
OUT, POLICE OFFICERS WERE
SENT TO MAINTAIN ORDER.

00:29:13.835 --> 00:29:15.628
THINGS SOON GOT OUT OF HAND.

00:29:15.712 --> 00:29:18.006
Man on megaphone:
DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY.

00:29:18.089 --> 00:29:21.342
Esparza: THE NEXT THING WE
KNEW, THE POLICE STARTED

00:29:21.426 --> 00:29:23.803
RUSHING US.

00:29:23.887 --> 00:29:26.848
AND THEY WERE WAVING
THEIR BILLY CLUBS.

00:29:26.931 --> 00:29:31.686
AND IT WAS AS UGLY A THING AS
I REMEMBER IN MY LIFE--PEOPLE

00:29:31.769 --> 00:29:34.689
BEING CLUBBED DOWN TO THE
FLOOR BECAUSE THEY WANTED

00:29:34.772 --> 00:29:36.399
AN EDUCATION.

00:29:36.483 --> 00:29:39.068
[CROWD SHOUTING]

00:29:39.152 --> 00:29:42.739
THE NEXT DAY, WE WALKED OUT
AGAIN, AND WE WALKED OUT AGAIN

00:29:42.822 --> 00:29:47.243
THE NEXT DAY AFTER THAT, AND
WE DIDN'T STOP FOR TWO WEEKS.

00:29:47.327 --> 00:29:48.536
Man: WE ARE NOT
GOING TO...

00:29:48.620 --> 00:29:50.497
Narrator: THE WALKOUTS
EVENTUALLY LED TO MEETINGS

00:29:50.580 --> 00:29:52.790
WITH PARENTS AND
ADMINISTRATORS, AND MANY

00:29:52.874 --> 00:29:55.877
OF THE STUDENTS'
DEMANDS WERE MET.

00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:58.046
Castro: YOU STARTED HAVING
BROWN FACES, YOU STARTED

00:29:58.129 --> 00:30:01.591
HAVING MORE MEXICAN
ADMINISTRATORS, MORE BILINGUAL

00:30:01.674 --> 00:30:04.427
ADMINISTRATORS, AND SURE
ENOUGH, WE EVENTUALLY STARTED

00:30:04.511 --> 00:30:07.055
HAVING SUPERINTENDENTS.

00:30:07.138 --> 00:30:10.016
Narrator: THE DECADE OF THE
1970s WOULD SEE MORE LATINOS

00:30:10.099 --> 00:30:12.143
ATTENDING COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE

00:30:12.227 --> 00:30:14.729
COUNTRY THAN EVER BEFORE...

00:30:17.065 --> 00:30:19.275
AND THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY
ESTABLISH CHICANO AND LATINO

00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:24.239
STUDIES DEPARTMENTS AT
OVER 160 UNIVERSITIES.

00:30:24.322 --> 00:30:26.449
BUT PERHAPS THE GREATEST
TRANSFORMATION TOOK PLACE

00:30:26.533 --> 00:30:29.744
WITHIN THE
STUDENTS THEMSELVES.

00:30:29.827 --> 00:30:33.790
Esparza: BEFORE THE WALKOUTS,
THE WORD CHICANO DIDN'T HAVE

00:30:33.873 --> 00:30:39.462
THE CHARGE OF CLAIMING OUR
IDENTITY IN THE COUNTRY

00:30:39.546 --> 00:30:43.591
AND SAYING, "YEAH, I'M AN
AMERICAN, AND THAT MEANS BEING

00:30:43.675 --> 00:30:44.968
A CHICANO."

00:30:45.051 --> 00:30:48.304
AFTER THE WALKOUTS, BEING
CHICANO MEANT THAT YOU WERE

00:30:48.388 --> 00:30:55.186
GOING TO STAND UP FOR WHO
YOU WERE AND OWN IT.

00:30:55.270 --> 00:30:57.689
Narrator: ALL ACROSS THE
COUNTRY, CHICANOS WERE TAKING

00:30:57.772 --> 00:31:00.233
OWNERSHIP OF THEIR FUTURE.

00:31:00.316 --> 00:31:03.653
WE CAME HERE TO BUILD
THE NEW CHICANO
MOVEMENT.

00:31:03.736 --> 00:31:06.322
THAT'S WHAT WE
CAME HERE FOR.

00:31:06.406 --> 00:31:09.909
Narrator: IN COLORADO, RODOLFO
"CORKY" GONZALES ORGANIZED

00:31:09.993 --> 00:31:13.663
THE FIRST-EVER CHICANO
YOUTH CONFERENCE.

00:31:13.746 --> 00:31:16.624
1,500 YOUNG PEOPLE RALLIED
TO SUPPORT CHICANOS RUNNING

00:31:16.708 --> 00:31:20.336
FOR OFFICE, TO DEMAND EQUAL
RIGHTS FOR WOMEN, AND TO PRESS

00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:23.965
FOR MORE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

00:31:25.883 --> 00:31:29.345
IN WASHINGTON D.C., THE
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA

00:31:29.429 --> 00:31:32.348
BECAME THE LARGEST LATINO
ORGANIZATION IN THE COUNTRY

00:31:32.432 --> 00:31:35.059
FIGHTING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS.

00:31:35.143 --> 00:31:37.186
ALTHOUGH WE ARE
FIGHTING FOR LAND,
WE ARE FIGHTING

00:31:37.270 --> 00:31:40.982
THE SURVIVAL
AND PROTECTION OF
OUR CULTURE.

00:31:41.065 --> 00:31:44.319
Narrator: IN NEW MEXICO, REIES
LOPEZ TIJERINA LED A MOVEMENT

00:31:44.402 --> 00:31:47.488
DEMANDING JUSTICE FOR THE
DESCENDENTS OF MEXICAN AMERICANS

00:31:47.572 --> 00:31:49.616
WHOSE LANDS HAD
BEEN TAKEN FOLLOWING

00:31:49.699 --> 00:31:53.870
THE U.S.-MEXICO WAR OF 1848.

00:31:53.953 --> 00:31:55.663
[CROWD CHANTING]

00:31:55.747 --> 00:31:58.458
Narrator: IN CALIFORNIA, THE
FARM WORKERS UNION WOULD GROW

00:31:58.541 --> 00:32:02.253
TO OVER 70,000 MEMBERS,
AND THEIR GAINS IN WAGES

00:32:02.337 --> 00:32:05.089
AND WORKING CONDITIONS HAD
ENABLED MANY TO LEAVE

00:32:05.173 --> 00:32:08.509
THE MIGRANT TRAIL.

00:32:08.593 --> 00:32:12.347
AND IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS,
YOUNG CHICANOS, FRUSTRATED

00:32:12.430 --> 00:32:15.642
WITH THE SLOW PACE OF SOCIAL
CHANGE, WERE CHALLENGING

00:32:15.725 --> 00:32:20.271
THE POLITICAL STATUS QUO,
AS REPRESENTED BY CONGRESSMAN

00:32:20.355 --> 00:32:22.649
HENRY BARBOSA GONZALEZ.

00:32:22.732 --> 00:32:25.735
Gutiérrez: HE WAS THE FIRST
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM TEXAS

00:32:25.818 --> 00:32:27.070
WHO WAS MEXICAN AMERICAN.

00:32:27.153 --> 00:32:32.367
WE ALL LOOKED UP TO HIM, AND
HE WAS FINE AT THE BEGINNING.

00:32:32.450 --> 00:32:35.703
Narrator: BACK IN 1956,
GONZALEZ--KNOWN TO ALL AS

00:32:35.787 --> 00:32:39.707
HENRY B.--HAD BECOME A BEACON
OF HOPE AND CHANGE FOR MEXICAN

00:32:39.791 --> 00:32:42.919
AMERICANS WITH HIS ELECTION
TO THE ALL-ANGLO TEXAS

00:32:43.002 --> 00:32:45.755
STATE SENATE.

00:32:45.838 --> 00:32:48.883
HE SOON TOOK ON THE TEXAS
ESTABLISHMENT IN A CRUCIAL

00:32:48.966 --> 00:32:51.761
BATTLE OVER
SCHOOL INTEGRATION.

00:32:51.844 --> 00:32:55.014
Man: IN 1954, THE SUPREME
COURT PASSES THE BROWN VS.

00:32:55.098 --> 00:32:58.768
BOARD DECISION, DECLARING
THAT SCHOOL SEGREGATION

00:32:58.851 --> 00:33:00.478
IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

00:33:00.561 --> 00:33:03.856
WELL, THERE WAS A SERIOUS
BACKLASH FROM SOUTHERNERS,

00:33:03.940 --> 00:33:05.066
TEXAS INCLUDED.

00:33:05.149 --> 00:33:09.362
THE STATE WAS IN FLAMES
ABOUT INTEGRATING SCHOOLS.

00:33:09.445 --> 00:33:11.864
Narrator: TEXAS' GOVERNOR
PRICE DANIEL INTRODUCED NEARLY

00:33:11.948 --> 00:33:16.244
A DOZEN BILLS INTENDED
TO PRESERVE SEGREGATION.

00:33:16.327 --> 00:33:19.330
HENRY B. GONZALEZ DETERMINED
TO STOP THEM BY STAGING

00:33:19.414 --> 00:33:21.874
A FILIBUSTER IN THE SENATE.

00:33:21.958 --> 00:33:24.293
Man: WELL HE JUST TALKED ALL
NIGHT, AND WITH NOBODY ELSE

00:33:24.377 --> 00:33:27.672
THERE TO HEAR IT, HE
WAS SAYING, "WHO SPEAKS

00:33:27.755 --> 00:33:28.881
"FOR THE BLACK MAN?

00:33:28.965 --> 00:33:31.217
"WHO SPEAKS FOR THE
MEXICAN AMERICAN?

00:33:31.300 --> 00:33:32.802
"FOR WHOM DOES THE BELL TOLL?

00:33:32.885 --> 00:33:35.221
IT TOLLS FOR THEE."

00:33:37.765 --> 00:33:40.184
Narrator: GONZALEZ SPOKE FOR
A RECORD-BREAKING 22

00:33:40.268 --> 00:33:41.936
STRAIGHT HOURS.

00:33:42.019 --> 00:33:44.313
Montejano: HENRY B.
EFFECTIVELY DERAILED MOST

00:33:44.397 --> 00:33:47.275
OF THE BILLS, AND HE BECAME
IMMEDIATELY A HERO TO THE

00:33:47.358 --> 00:33:51.696
AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND MEXICAN-
AMERICAN POPULATION OF TEXAS.

00:33:53.448 --> 00:33:56.117
Narrator: GONZALEZ GREW UP
MIDDLE CLASS, IN A MIXED RACE

00:33:56.200 --> 00:34:00.288
NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR SAN
ANTONIO'S DOWNTOWN.

00:34:00.371 --> 00:34:02.248
HIS PARENTS FLED
MEXICO FOR TEXAS

00:34:02.331 --> 00:34:05.668
DURING THE REVOLUTION
OF 1911.

00:34:05.752 --> 00:34:08.504
THEY CAME WELL-EDUCATED,
WITH MORE SCHOOLING

00:34:08.588 --> 00:34:10.923
THAN MOST AMERICANS.

00:34:11.007 --> 00:34:13.509
Man: MY GRANDFATHER LEONIDES
GONZALEZ WAS ACTUALLY

00:34:13.593 --> 00:34:15.845
THE MAYOR OF A SMALL CITY.

00:34:15.928 --> 00:34:18.681
HIS BROTHER WAS A DOCTOR.

00:34:18.765 --> 00:34:21.309
YOU COULD SAY THEY WERE
REPRESENTATIVE OF A CERTAIN

00:34:21.392 --> 00:34:25.605
SEGMENT OF SOCIETY THAT
TRULY WERE VERY ACCOMPLISHED

00:34:25.688 --> 00:34:29.400
AND IN MANY WAYS PRIVILEGED.

00:34:29.484 --> 00:34:33.154
DAD WAS BROUGHT UP WITH THE
ARTS AND LITERATURE AND MUSIC.

00:34:33.237 --> 00:34:38.326
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:41.496
Narrator: IN 1961, GONZALEZ
BROKE ANOTHER BARRIER,

00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:44.207
BECOMING THE FIRST MEXICAN
AMERICAN FROM TEXAS TO WIN

00:34:44.290 --> 00:34:47.251
A SEAT IN THE U.S. HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES.

00:34:47.335 --> 00:34:50.588
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY HE BEGAN
PROMOTING A WORLD'S FAIR TO

00:34:50.671 --> 00:34:54.509
CELEBRATE THE 250th BIRTHDAY
OF SAN ANTONIO AND BRING NEW

00:34:54.592 --> 00:34:57.011
JOBS AND TOURISM TO HIS CITY.

00:34:57.094 --> 00:35:00.306
THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO THE
PEOPLE OF SAN ANTONIO.

00:35:00.389 --> 00:35:06.354
OUR HOPES, OUR ASPIRATIONS ARE
WRAPPED UP IN THE SUCCESSFUL

00:35:06.437 --> 00:35:09.106
HEMISFAIR OF 1968.

00:35:09.190 --> 00:35:11.651
Announcer: DON'T MISS THE
TRAVEL HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR.

00:35:11.734 --> 00:35:15.029
COME JOIN THE FUN AT THE
SAN ANTONIO WORLD'S FAIR,

00:35:15.112 --> 00:35:18.866
NOW IN AMERICA'S
"FIESTA CITY."

00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:25.998
Narrator: BUT JUST A FEW MILES
AWAY, SAN ANTONIO'S WEST SIDE

00:35:26.082 --> 00:35:28.042
WAS NO "FIESTA CITY."

00:35:28.125 --> 00:35:31.087
HENRY B. GONZALEZ'S EFFORTS TO
BOOST THE LOCAL ECONOMY WERE

00:35:31.170 --> 00:35:34.340
NOT TRICKLING DOWN TO THE
BARRIO WHERE MANY OF SAN

00:35:34.423 --> 00:35:38.219
ANTONIO'S 350,000 MEXICAN
AMERICANS LIVED IN SOME

00:35:38.302 --> 00:35:42.932
OF THE WORST SLUMS
IN THE NATION.

00:35:43.015 --> 00:35:44.809
Montejano: THE LIVING
CONDITIONS FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS

00:35:44.892 --> 00:35:47.562
IN SAN ANTONIO WERE DIRE.

00:35:47.645 --> 00:35:52.525
THE HOMES WERE PIECED TOGETHER
WITH SCRAPS OF METAL, WOOD.

00:35:52.608 --> 00:35:55.528
IN SOME PLACES YOU HAD
SHOTGUN HOUSES ARRANGED

00:35:55.611 --> 00:36:01.617
AROUND A LITTLE COURTYARD WITH
ONE FAUCET, ONE OUTDOOR PRIVY.

00:36:03.870 --> 00:36:08.291
THOSE WERE THE
CONDITIONS IN SAN ANTONIO.

00:36:08.374 --> 00:36:12.170
Narrator: BY 1968, MANY
CHICANOS SAW HENRY B. AS OUT

00:36:12.253 --> 00:36:16.257
OF TOUCH, MORE CONNECTED TO
WASHINGTON POWER BROKERS THAN

00:36:16.340 --> 00:36:19.468
TO SAN ANTONIO'S POOR.

00:36:19.552 --> 00:36:22.763
Montejano: HENRY B. GONZALES
BY THIS TIME WAS SEEN BY MANY

00:36:22.847 --> 00:36:26.809
TO HAVE COMPROMISED
HIS EARLIER IDEALS.

00:36:26.893 --> 00:36:30.521
MANY CHICANOS WERE POINTING
OUT THE GLARING INEQUITIES

00:36:30.605 --> 00:36:33.482
IN THE CITY, AND THE CRY FROM
THE CHICANO COMMUNITY OR

00:36:33.566 --> 00:36:38.529
THE ACTIVIST COMMUNITY IS,
"WHERE IS HENRY B. GONZALEZ?

00:36:38.613 --> 00:36:40.489
WHERE IS HENRY B. GONZALEZ?"

00:36:40.573 --> 00:36:44.243
[CROWD SHOUTING]

00:36:44.327 --> 00:36:47.455
Narrator: JUST DAYS AFTER
THE GRAND OPENING OF HEMISFAIR,

00:36:47.538 --> 00:36:49.999
CHICANO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS--
LIKE THEIR LOS ANGELES

00:36:50.082 --> 00:36:55.004
COUNTERPARTS--STAGED WALKOUTS,
FIRST IN SAN ANTONIO, THEN

00:36:55.087 --> 00:36:57.924
IN THIRTY-NINE TOWNS
ACROSS TEXAS.

00:36:58.007 --> 00:37:00.801
EVENTUALLY THEY SPREAD TO
NEARLY 100 HIGH SCHOOLS

00:37:00.885 --> 00:37:04.430
IN TEN STATES.

00:37:04.513 --> 00:37:08.059
THE MASTERMIND BEHIND MUCH OF
THIS ACTIVISM WAS JOSE ANGEL

00:37:08.142 --> 00:37:11.812
GUTIERREZ, SON OF A LOCAL
DOCTOR AND A GRADUATE STUDENT

00:37:11.896 --> 00:37:15.232
IN POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM A
SMALL TOWN SOUTHWEST OF SAN

00:37:15.316 --> 00:37:19.320
ANTONIO CALLED CRYSTAL CITY.

00:37:19.403 --> 00:37:22.406
Gutiérrez: CRYSTAL CITY, WHERE
I GREW UP, WAS SIMPLY LIKE

00:37:22.490 --> 00:37:25.201
AN OLD COLONIAL PLANTATION.

00:37:25.284 --> 00:37:27.703
IT WAS A SEGREGATED TOWN.

00:37:27.787 --> 00:37:30.206
ANGLOS HAD PAVED STREETS,
SIDEWALKS, LIGHTS.

00:37:30.289 --> 00:37:32.166
WE HAD NONE OF THAT.

00:37:32.250 --> 00:37:33.209
POLIO WAS RAMPANT.

00:37:33.292 --> 00:37:35.211
TUBERCULOSIS WAS RAMPANT.

00:37:35.294 --> 00:37:41.259
EVERYTHING AROUND YOU WAS
JUST SIMPLY DISHEARTENING.

00:37:41.342 --> 00:37:44.553
Narrator: LIKE MANY SOUTH
TEXAS TOWNS, CRYSTAL CITY HAD

00:37:44.637 --> 00:37:47.306
BEEN SHAPED BY RACIAL
VIOLENCE, MUCH OF IT

00:37:47.390 --> 00:37:51.310
PERPETRATED BY THE TEXAS
RANGERS, A 150-YEAR-OLD

00:37:51.394 --> 00:37:55.022
AUTONOMOUS POLICE FORCE WITH
A HISTORY OF INTIMIDATING, EVEN

00:37:55.106 --> 00:37:57.858
KILLING MEXICANS.

00:37:57.942 --> 00:38:01.779
AS A YOUNG BOY, GUTIERREZ
OFTEN WITNESSED THE AFTERMATH

00:38:01.862 --> 00:38:03.531
OF THIS BRUTALITY.

00:38:03.614 --> 00:38:07.159
Gutiérrez: MY FATHER'S MEDICAL
PRACTICE WAS IN OUR HOME,

00:38:07.243 --> 00:38:12.415
AND IT WOULD NOT BE UNUSUAL
FOR US AT NIGHT, THE MIDDLE

00:38:12.498 --> 00:38:14.834
OF THE NIGHT, TO HEAR A
THUMP, YOU KNOW, ON THE DOOR,

00:38:14.917 --> 00:38:16.752
AND THERE'S A BODY.

00:38:16.836 --> 00:38:18.671
THEY HAD BEEN PISTOL-WHIPPED
OR THEY HAD BEEN BEATEN BY

00:38:18.754 --> 00:38:20.381
THE POLICE.

00:38:20.464 --> 00:38:22.258
Man: THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
AT THE TIME WAS JUST

00:38:22.341 --> 00:38:26.512
ABOUT A HUNDRED PERCENT ANGLO,
AND THEY PRETTY MUCH ENFORCED

00:38:26.595 --> 00:38:31.225
WHATEVER THE RULING CLASS
NEEDED TO HAVE ENFORCED.

00:38:31.308 --> 00:38:33.894
Narrator: GUTIERREZ BLAMED
"GRINGOS"--THE ANGLO

00:38:33.978 --> 00:38:35.980
AUTHORITIES IN SOUTH TEXAS--

00:38:36.063 --> 00:38:38.899
FOR KEEPING MEXICAN
AMERICANS DOWN.

00:38:38.983 --> 00:38:43.362
HE WAS DETERMINED TO HELP
CHICANOS GAIN POLITICAL POWER.

00:38:43.446 --> 00:38:45.031
Gutiérrez: WE RECOGNIZE
THAT THE BARRIERS TO OUR

00:38:45.114 --> 00:38:49.660
INTEGRATING INTO THIS SOCIETY
AND TO UPLIFTING OURSELVES IS

00:38:49.744 --> 00:38:52.204
THE GRINGO, THE GRINGO WHO'S
PUT THE BARRIERS WHO MAKES US

00:38:52.288 --> 00:38:54.665
DROP OUT OF SCHOOL, WHO KEEPS
US IN BAD HEALTH, WHO DOESN'T

00:38:54.749 --> 00:38:56.751
PAY US GOOD WAGES, WHO
PROHIBITS OUR UNIONS,

00:38:56.834 --> 00:38:58.127
AND SO ON AND SO ON AND SO ON.

00:38:58.210 --> 00:38:59.879
SO UNTIL WE GET RID OF THOSE
ELEMENTS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO

00:38:59.962 --> 00:39:01.839
PROGRESS, WE'RE NOT
GOING TO BE FREE.

00:39:01.922 --> 00:39:03.507
SO, YES, THE GRINGO MUST GO.

00:39:03.591 --> 00:39:05.634
Montejano: THIS PRESS
CONFERENCE BECAME KNOWN AS

00:39:05.718 --> 00:39:09.889
THE "KILL THE GRINGO" PRESS
CONFERENCE BECAUSE THAT'S

00:39:09.972 --> 00:39:12.600
THE WAY THE NEWSPAPERS
PORTRAYED IT.

00:39:12.683 --> 00:39:17.146
BUT WHAT JOSE ANGEL GUTIERREZ
MEANT WAS KILL THE GRINGO

00:39:17.229 --> 00:39:21.984
SUPREMACY--YOU KNOW, NOT THE
INDIVIDUAL BUT THE SYSTEM.

00:39:22.068 --> 00:39:24.820
Narrator: IN A TELEVISION
INTERVIEW, HENRY B. GONZALEZ

00:39:24.904 --> 00:39:27.948
DENOUNCED CHICANO ACTIVISTS
LIKE GUTIERREZ AND WHAT HE

00:39:28.032 --> 00:39:30.576
CALLED THEIR
"CAMPAIGN OF HATE."

00:39:30.659 --> 00:39:34.246
I PICTURE MY OWN ROLE AS
HAVING A RESPONSIBILITY TO

00:39:34.330 --> 00:39:39.043
SMOKE OUT AND TO EXPOSE THESE
FALSE AND MISTAKEN VOICES

00:39:39.126 --> 00:39:40.503
OF HATRED.

00:39:40.586 --> 00:39:44.840
I FEEL THAT I FOUGHT AGAINST
THOSE IN THE MAJORITY WHO WERE

00:39:44.924 --> 00:39:47.760
PREACHING THE SAME HATRED
12 YEARS AGO IN A DIFFERENT

00:39:47.843 --> 00:39:50.930
CONTEXT AND THAT I HAVE THE
SAME RESPONSIBILITY TO EXPOSE

00:39:51.013 --> 00:39:53.974
IT AMONG THE MINORITY EVEN
IF IT IS A MINORITY FROM

00:39:54.058 --> 00:39:56.102
WHICH I EMERGE.

00:39:56.185 --> 00:39:58.062
Man: HENRY B. GONZALEZ,
IN MY ESTIMATION,

00:39:58.145 --> 00:39:59.396
HAD A VIEW OF AMERICA THAT

00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:03.317
BOUGHT INTO THE MELTING POT
SCENARIO, AND OUR MOVEMENT

00:40:03.400 --> 00:40:05.736
SAID NO, WE REJECT THAT.

00:40:05.820 --> 00:40:07.822
WE DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP OUR
LANGUAGE, WE DON'T HAVE TO

00:40:07.905 --> 00:40:10.825
GIVE UP OUR CULTURE,
THE EXTENDED FAMILY...

00:40:10.908 --> 00:40:13.327
ALL THOSE THINGS THAT
MAKE US WHO WE ARE.

00:40:13.410 --> 00:40:17.873
WE'RE NOT GOING TO ERASE THOSE
JUST TO BUY INTO THIS, TO YOUR

00:40:17.957 --> 00:40:21.210
NOTION OF WHAT IT IS TO
BE AN AMERICAN.

00:40:21.293 --> 00:40:24.505
Narrator: BACK IN HIS HOMETOWN
OF CRYSTAL CITY, GUTIERREZ

00:40:24.588 --> 00:40:28.217
ORGANIZED YET ANOTHER
HIGH SCHOOL WALKOUT.

00:40:28.300 --> 00:40:32.513
AFTER 8 LONG WEEKS, THE
STUDENTS WON THEIR DEMANDS,

00:40:32.596 --> 00:40:35.641
BUT THAT WAS NOT
ENOUGH FOR GUTIERREZ.

00:40:35.724 --> 00:40:38.060
Gutiérrez: IN A SCHOOL
WALKOUT, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK

00:40:38.144 --> 00:40:41.230
THE NEXT DAY ONCE YOU SETTLE
TO THE SAME TEACHER, THE SAME

00:40:41.313 --> 00:40:42.857
PRINCIPAL, THE SAME
SUPERINTENDENT, THE SAME

00:40:42.940 --> 00:40:44.191
SCHOOL BOARD.

00:40:44.275 --> 00:40:46.735
WELL, THE ONLY WAY TO CHANGE
THAT IS TO HAVE A POLITICAL

00:40:46.819 --> 00:40:48.362
REVOLUTION ELECTORALLY.

00:40:48.445 --> 00:40:51.031
VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE SO
THAT THEN YOU CAN HIRE

00:40:51.115 --> 00:40:53.492
THE CORRECT PRINCIPAL AND
SUPERINTENDENT AND SO ON.

00:40:53.576 --> 00:40:58.664
IF WE CAN TAKE OVER A SCHOOL
AND BE SUCCESSFUL AND GET WHAT

00:40:58.747 --> 00:41:02.042
THE STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS
WANT, WHY CAN'T WE JUST BECOME

00:41:02.126 --> 00:41:03.335
A COUNTY COMMISSIONER?

00:41:03.419 --> 00:41:05.129
WHY CAN'T WE BECOME A SHERIFF?

00:41:05.212 --> 00:41:07.423
WHY DON'T WE BECOME
THE COUNTY JUDGE?

00:41:07.506 --> 00:41:10.426
SO WE FORMED
A POLITICAL PARTY.

00:41:10.509 --> 00:41:13.512
Narrator: THEY CALLED THEIR
NEW PARTY LA RAZA UNIDA...

00:41:13.596 --> 00:41:15.139
THE UNITED PEOPLE.

00:41:15.222 --> 00:41:18.392
GUTIERREZ SPENT WEEKS GOING
DOOR TO DOOR, ENCOURAGING

00:41:18.475 --> 00:41:22.771
MEXICAN AMERICANS--WHO MADE UP
80% OF THE POPULATION--TO RUN

00:41:22.855 --> 00:41:25.774
CANDIDATES IN THE
UPCOMING ELECTIONS.

00:41:25.858 --> 00:41:27.735
[SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:41:27.818 --> 00:41:30.821
Man: WHEN YOU SAW JOSE ANGEL
GUTIERREZ WALK INTO A CRYSTAL

00:41:30.905 --> 00:41:34.200
CITY BARRIO, HE KNEW HOW
TO TALK TO PEOPLE.

00:41:34.283 --> 00:41:36.410
HE COULD SPEAK TO
OUR GRANDMOTHERS.

00:41:36.493 --> 00:41:39.538
HE COULD SPEAK TO OUR MOTHER,
TO OUR UNCLE, TO OUR FATHER,

00:41:39.622 --> 00:41:42.917
AND HE COULD ARTICULATE
THEIR CONCERNS.

00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:47.630
HE WAS VERY COMMITTED TO THE
POOR, TO THE WORKING CLASS.

00:41:47.713 --> 00:41:50.257
HE UNDERSTOOD THEIR NEEDS.

00:41:50.341 --> 00:41:52.760
HE KNEW HOW TO
ORGANIZE PEOPLE.

00:41:52.843 --> 00:41:55.721
Montejano: NOW WE WERE GOING
BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL WALKOUTS.

00:41:55.804 --> 00:41:59.183
NOW WE'RE REALLY GONNA TAKE
ON THE SYSTEM HERE.

00:41:59.266 --> 00:42:01.602
WE FIELDED SIXTEEN CANDIDATES
IN THREE COUNTIES AND WON

00:42:01.685 --> 00:42:05.773
FIFTEEN: SCHOOL BOARDS
AND CITY COUNCILS.

00:42:05.856 --> 00:42:08.275
Narrator: THE ELECTIONS
IN APRIL OF 1970 SAW

00:42:08.359 --> 00:42:12.363
AN UNPRECEDENTED
VICTORY FOR CHICANOS.

00:42:12.446 --> 00:42:16.408
GUTIERREZ WAS ELECTED COUNTY
JUDGE, AND LA RAZA UNIDA NOW

00:42:16.492 --> 00:42:19.828
CONTROLLED NOT ONLY THE SCHOOL
BOARD, BUT CITY AND COUNTY

00:42:19.912 --> 00:42:22.164
GOVERNMENT AS WELL.

00:42:22.248 --> 00:42:23.832
Gutiérrez: BEFORE YOU KNEW
IT, WE HAD CHICANO TEACHERS

00:42:23.916 --> 00:42:25.668
AND PRINCIPALS AND
SUPERINTENDENT.

00:42:25.751 --> 00:42:27.670
I MEAN THIS WAS
JUST INCREDIBLE!

00:42:27.753 --> 00:42:30.172
YOU KNOW, YOU WALKED INTO THE
COUNTRY COURTHOUSE, AND YOU

00:42:30.256 --> 00:42:33.801
WOULD SMELL CHORIZO, AND WE
WOULD BE SPEAKING IN SPANISH

00:42:33.884 --> 00:42:36.178
IN THE COURTROOM AND, YOU
KNOW, AND TELL THE ANGLO LAWYER,

00:42:36.262 --> 00:42:38.222
"YOU NEED AN INTERPRETER."

00:42:38.305 --> 00:42:39.974
Montejano: AND OF COURSE
THE ANGLO TEXANS ARE

00:42:40.057 --> 00:42:41.225
BESIDE THEMSELVES.

00:42:41.308 --> 00:42:43.769
THEY'RE THINKING THAT THIS
IS A REAL REVOLUTION.

00:42:43.852 --> 00:42:45.187
EXCEPT THAT ALL THAT'S
HAPPENING IS THAT

00:42:45.271 --> 00:42:49.358
MEXICAN AMERICANS ARE EXERCISING
THEIR POLITICAL WILL.

00:42:49.441 --> 00:42:51.819
[APPLAUSE]

00:42:51.902 --> 00:42:55.030
Narrator: LA RAZA UNIDA WOULD
GROW INTO A NATIONAL PARTY,

00:42:55.114 --> 00:42:58.117
RUNNING CANDIDATES FROM
CALIFORNIA TO MICHIGAN AS

00:42:58.200 --> 00:43:01.870
CHICANOS BEGAN FLEXING
THEIR POLITICAL MUSCLE.

00:43:06.417 --> 00:43:08.043
AND IN THE LARGEST
DEMONSTRATION OF CHICANO

00:43:08.127 --> 00:43:11.839
SOLIDARITY EVER SEEN IN THE
U.S., ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST

00:43:11.922 --> 00:43:16.468
29, 1970, OVER 30,000 TOOK
TO THE STREETS OF EAST LOS

00:43:16.552 --> 00:43:21.598
ANGELES, DEMANDING AN END
TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM.

00:43:21.682 --> 00:43:24.643
Valdez: THE WAR WAS REALLY
BECOMING SUCH A HEAVY PRESENCE

00:43:24.727 --> 00:43:27.396
IN OUR LIVES, AND NO
ONE COULD IGNORE IT.

00:43:27.479 --> 00:43:31.525
AT THAT TIME, WE WERE ABOUT
6% OF THE POPULATION

00:43:31.608 --> 00:43:36.739
IN THE COUNTRY AND 20% OF
CASUALTIES IN VIETNAM.

00:43:36.822 --> 00:43:37.906
Crowd: WE WON'T GO!

00:43:37.990 --> 00:43:43.704
HELL, NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL, NO, WE WON'T GO!

00:43:43.787 --> 00:43:45.914
Esparza: AS I RECALL, THERE
WERE MILES OF PEOPLE MARCHING

00:43:45.998 --> 00:43:51.420
DOWN WHITTIER BOULEVARD, AND
WE HAD THIS GREAT CELEBRATION.

00:43:51.503 --> 00:43:54.089
Narrator: MARCHERS, INCLUDING
THEIR FAMILIES, GATHERED TO

00:43:54.173 --> 00:43:57.217
ENJOY SPEECHES,
DANCING, AND MUSIC.

00:43:57.301 --> 00:43:59.136
BUT AUTHORITIES WERE ON EDGE.

00:43:59.219 --> 00:44:01.805
ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAD OFTEN

00:44:01.889 --> 00:44:03.223
TURNED VIOLENT.

00:44:03.307 --> 00:44:05.726
AND WHEN POLICE WERE SUMMONED
TO A LOCAL LIQUOR STORE AFTER

00:44:05.809 --> 00:44:09.104
THE ALLEGED THEFT OF A
SIX-PACK, THE NEARLY ALL-ANGLO

00:44:09.188 --> 00:44:12.691
SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT ARRIVED
IN RIOT GEAR, PREPARED TO

00:44:12.775 --> 00:44:15.694
BREAK UP THE DEMONSTRATION.

00:44:15.778 --> 00:44:20.908
Esparza: AND THEN TEAR GAS
WAS BEING THROWN AT US,

00:44:20.991 --> 00:44:23.285
AND THE PEOPLE STARTED RUNNING
IN ALL DIRECTIONS, AND THEN I

00:44:23.369 --> 00:44:27.664
SAW THE POLICE RUSHING US,
KNOCKING PEOPLE DOWN, AND THEN

00:44:27.748 --> 00:44:30.334
PEOPLE WERE PICKING UP THE
TEAR GAS AND THROWING IT BACK

00:44:30.417 --> 00:44:33.045
AT THEM, AND WE DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WHY

00:44:33.128 --> 00:44:34.463
IT HAPPENED.

00:44:34.546 --> 00:44:37.341
[CROWD SHOUTING]

00:44:37.424 --> 00:44:41.720
I SAW A POLICEMAN COMING UP
BEHIND A YOUNG WOMAN AND,

00:44:41.804 --> 00:44:47.518
WITH A BATON, HITTING HER
IN THE BACK OF THE NECK

00:44:47.601 --> 00:44:51.939
AND WATCHING HER DROP
LIKE A RAG DOLL.

00:44:52.022 --> 00:44:55.943
NO ONE WAS EVER HELD
ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT.

00:44:56.026 --> 00:44:58.612
Narrator: THREE PEOPLE
WERE KILLED THAT AFTERNOON,

00:44:58.695 --> 00:45:02.032
INCLUDING RUBEN SALAZAR, A
REPORTER FOR THE "LOS ANGELES

00:45:02.116 --> 00:45:05.327
TIMES" WHO HAD OFTEN BEEN
CRITICAL OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

00:45:05.411 --> 00:45:07.329
IN THE MEXICAN COMMUNITY.

00:45:07.413 --> 00:45:10.624
SALAZAR WAS ONE OF THE FEW
LATINOS IN THE COUNTRY WHO

00:45:10.707 --> 00:45:14.294
WORKED IN THE
MAINSTREAM PRESS.

00:45:14.378 --> 00:45:18.173
Esparza: WE LOST SOME
OF OUR HEART.

00:45:18.257 --> 00:45:20.509
WE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND...

00:45:23.011 --> 00:45:26.432
WHY PEOPLE HAD TO DIE

00:45:26.515 --> 00:45:29.184
SO THAT WE
COULD BE AMERICANS.

00:45:34.690 --> 00:45:37.693
Narrator: THE UGLY END TO THE
DEMONSTRATION SEEMED TO KNOCK

00:45:37.776 --> 00:45:40.195
THE WIND OUT OF THE
CHICANO POLITICAL MOVEMENTS

00:45:40.279 --> 00:45:44.199
OF THE LATE 1960s
AND EARLY '70s.

00:45:47.202 --> 00:45:49.955
LA RAZA UNIDA HAD FEW
SUCCESSES OUTSIDE

00:45:50.038 --> 00:45:51.707
OF SOUTH TEXAS.

00:45:51.790 --> 00:45:54.376
TORN BY INFIGHTING AND UNDER
PRESSURE FROM THE POLITICAL

00:45:54.460 --> 00:45:59.756
ESTABLISHMENT, THE PARTY
EVENTUALLY DISBANDED.

00:45:59.840 --> 00:46:02.718
REIES LOPEZ TIJERINA'S
FIGHT TO RECLAIM LAND FOR

00:46:02.801 --> 00:46:07.848
MEXICAN AMERICANS GOT HIM TWO
YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON.

00:46:07.931 --> 00:46:10.726
HE AND TWENTY ARMED FOLLOWERS
HAD ATTEMPTED TO STAGE

00:46:10.809 --> 00:46:14.021
A "CITIZENS ARREST" OF THE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND FREE

00:46:14.104 --> 00:46:17.691
EIGHT OF TIJERINA'S MEN FROM
THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE WHO THEY

00:46:17.774 --> 00:46:20.986
BELIEVED HAD WRONGLY
BEEN JAILED.

00:46:21.069 --> 00:46:23.280
[GUNSHOTS]

00:46:23.363 --> 00:46:25.991
TWO OFFICERS WERE SHOT.

00:46:28.202 --> 00:46:30.788
TIJERINA TRIGGERED THE LARGEST
MANHUNT IN THE HISTORY OF

00:46:30.871 --> 00:46:35.375
NEW MEXICO WHEN HE FLED
INTO THE MOUNTAINS.

00:46:35.459 --> 00:46:40.506
AFTER A WEEK HE
SURRENDERED IN ALBUQUERQUE.

00:46:40.589 --> 00:46:44.218
AND SAL CASTRO--THE HERO
OF THE L.A. WALKOUTS--WAS

00:46:44.301 --> 00:46:48.347
ARRESTED ALONG WITH 12 OTHERS.

00:46:48.430 --> 00:46:50.807
THE AUTHORITIES HAD PUSHED
BACK HARD, CHARGING THE

00:46:50.891 --> 00:46:57.272
SO-CALLED L.A. THIRTEEN WITH
MULTIPLE COUNTS OF CONSPIRACY.

00:46:57.356 --> 00:47:00.943
IT TOOK TWO YEARS OF COMMUNITY
PROTEST AND LEGAL WRANGLING

00:47:01.026 --> 00:47:05.614
FOR THE CHARGES
TO BE DISMISSED.

00:47:05.697 --> 00:47:09.076
BUT AFTER THOSE TURBULENT
YEARS, THE CHICANO MOVEMENT

00:47:09.159 --> 00:47:11.787
WOULD TAKE ON
A DIFFERENT TONE.

00:47:20.546 --> 00:47:24.800
IN TEXAS, CHICANO ACTIVIST
WILLIE VELASQUEZ, FRUSTRATED

00:47:24.883 --> 00:47:28.887
WITH BOTH HENRY GONZALEZ'S
POLITICS OF GRADUALISM

00:47:28.971 --> 00:47:32.474
AND THE MILITANCY OF JOSE
ANGEL GUTIERREZ, SOUGHT

00:47:32.558 --> 00:47:34.309
ANOTHER WAY FOR
LATINOS TO ENTER

00:47:34.393 --> 00:47:36.645
THE POLITICAL MAINSTREAM.

00:47:36.728 --> 00:47:38.480
Montejano: EVERYBODY WAS
LOOKING FOR A THIRD WAY HERE,

00:47:38.564 --> 00:47:42.859
OR AN ALTERNATIVE WAY, AND
I THINK WILLIE FOUND ONE.

00:47:42.943 --> 00:47:44.653
ON THE FACE OF IT,
IT'S VERY SIMPLE.

00:47:44.736 --> 00:47:48.991
YOU JUST ORGANIZE AND REGISTER
VOTERS, RIGHT? THAT'S IT.

00:47:49.074 --> 00:47:52.578
YOU KNOW, HOW CAN YOU BUILD
POLITICAL POWER LIKE THAT?

00:47:52.661 --> 00:47:56.164
WELL, HE WAS DOING
THAT IN EVERY TOWN.

00:47:56.248 --> 00:47:58.125
I REMEMBER HEARING HIM
GIVE SPEECHES ON VOTER

00:47:58.208 --> 00:48:01.044
REGISTRATION, AND THE PEOPLE
WOULD JUMP UP AND START

00:48:01.128 --> 00:48:04.172
APPLAUDING AND SCREAMING
BECAUSE HE GOT PEOPLE EXCITED

00:48:04.256 --> 00:48:06.341
ABOUT GETTING
REGISTERED TO VOTE.

00:48:06.425 --> 00:48:08.885
I'VE NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE IT.

00:48:12.431 --> 00:48:15.142
Narrator: WILLIE VELASQUEZ
GREW UP ON SAN ANTONIO'S WEST

00:48:15.225 --> 00:48:18.604
SIDE, IN THE HEART
OF THE BARRIO.

00:48:18.687 --> 00:48:21.982
THERE WERE NO SIDEWALKS,
NO DRAINAGE FOR THE WINTER

00:48:22.065 --> 00:48:24.651
DOWNPOURS THAT REGULARLY
FLOODED THE MEXICAN PART

00:48:24.735 --> 00:48:31.241
OF TOWN, INCLUDING
THE VELASQUEZ HOME.

00:48:31.325 --> 00:48:35.329
IN 1966, VELASQUEZ BECAME
THE FIRST IN HIS FAMILY TO

00:48:35.412 --> 00:48:38.040
GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE.

00:48:38.123 --> 00:48:41.126
WHILE VOLUNTEERING WITH THE
FARM WORKERS THAT SUMMER, HE

00:48:41.209 --> 00:48:44.338
REALIZED NOTHING WOULD CHANGE
IN THE BARRIO UNTIL CHICANOS

00:48:44.421 --> 00:48:48.842
HARNESSED THE POWER
OF THEIR NUMBERS.

00:48:48.925 --> 00:48:53.221
BY 1974, VELASQUEZ HAD FOUND
HIS CALLING, ORGANIZING

00:48:53.305 --> 00:48:55.557
THOUSANDS OF VOTER
REGISTRATION DRIVES ACROSS

00:48:55.641 --> 00:48:58.810
THE SOUTHWEST.

00:48:58.894 --> 00:49:00.896
Yzaguirre: HE WAS
ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL.

00:49:00.979 --> 00:49:04.524
NOBODY HAD MARSHALED
THE RESOURCES,

00:49:04.608 --> 00:49:07.069
THE EXPERTISE, THE TECHNOLOGY

00:49:07.152 --> 00:49:09.905
OF VOTER REGISTRATION LIKE
WILLIE VELASQUEZ DID.

00:49:09.988 --> 00:49:12.157
Leal: AND THERE ARE SOME
ELECTIONS, AND YOU KNOW, SOME

00:49:12.240 --> 00:49:14.576
OF THE PEOPLE HE REGISTERS
TO VOTE ASK HIM,

00:49:14.660 --> 00:49:19.915
"WILLIE, WHY "DIDN'T WE WIN?
WE'RE ALL REGISTERED." OK?

00:49:19.998 --> 00:49:24.002
SO, THEN, YOU KNOW, IT BECAME
VERY PAINFULLY CLEAR TO WILLIE

00:49:24.086 --> 00:49:29.007
THAT IT WAS THE SYSTEM, IT WAS
THE ELECTORAL POLITICAL SYSTEM

00:49:29.091 --> 00:49:32.594
OF THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT
WAS TOTALLY AGAINST THEM

00:49:32.678 --> 00:49:34.304
EVER WINNING.

00:49:34.388 --> 00:49:37.933
THE SYSTEM IS STACKED AGAINST
US WITH GERRYMANDERING.

00:49:38.016 --> 00:49:42.437
THE WAY THEY HAVE DISTRICTS
CUT UP IS THAT THEY DIVIDE

00:49:42.521 --> 00:49:46.358
A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE IT'S A
CONCENTRATION OF CHICANOS INTO

00:49:46.441 --> 00:49:51.405
LITTLE PIECES, AND WE'RE
NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO

00:49:51.488 --> 00:49:52.906
WIN THAT WAY.

00:49:52.989 --> 00:49:55.450
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE
GOING TO HAVE TO DO IS WE'RE

00:49:55.534 --> 00:49:58.537
GOING TO HAVE TO
TAKE PEOPLE TO COURT.

00:49:58.620 --> 00:50:02.290
Narrator: IN TOWN AFTER TOWN,
VELASQUEZ DOCUMENTED ABUSES

00:50:02.374 --> 00:50:05.293
AND BEGAN FILING
VOTING RIGHTS LAWSUITS.

00:50:05.377 --> 00:50:07.087
Leal: THEY NEVER LOST A CASE.

00:50:07.170 --> 00:50:11.091
85 VOTING RIGHTS CASES,
THEY NEVER LOST A CASE.

00:50:11.174 --> 00:50:12.801
Rios: IT WASN'T THAT
WE WERE GREAT LAWYERS.

00:50:12.884 --> 00:50:15.095
IT'S JUST THAT THE LAW WAS
SO OBVIOUS AND THE VIOLATIONS

00:50:15.178 --> 00:50:19.182
WERE SO CLEAR AND THE RESULTS
WERE SO DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO

00:50:19.266 --> 00:50:21.768
CHANGING THE ELECTION SYSTEM,
CHANGING THE WAY THE GAME

00:50:21.852 --> 00:50:23.103
WAS PLAYED.

00:50:23.186 --> 00:50:25.814
ONCE YOU CHANGED IT AND PEOPLE
PARTICIPATED, PEOPLE STARTED

00:50:25.897 --> 00:50:27.607
GETTING ELECTED.

00:50:27.691 --> 00:50:29.985
Narrator: VELASQUEZ WAS
CONSUMED WITH COURT CASES

00:50:30.068 --> 00:50:33.029
AND REGISTRATION DRIVES,
PUSHING HIMSELF TO THE POINT

00:50:33.113 --> 00:50:37.284
OF EXHAUSTION, EVEN
THOUGH HE WAS OFTEN ILL.

00:50:37.367 --> 00:50:40.746
HE NEVER WENT TO THE DOCTOR
TO HAVE HIMSELF CHECKED OUT.

00:50:40.829 --> 00:50:47.169
AND INSTEAD HE JUST KEPT
TAKING PEPTO-BISMOL TO GET

00:50:47.252 --> 00:50:52.048
THROUGH WHATEVER PAIN
HE WAS GOING THROUGH.

00:50:52.132 --> 00:50:55.218
AND FINALLY HE COULDN'T
TAKE IT ANYMORE.

00:50:55.302 --> 00:50:56.261
Narrator: VELASQUEZ WAS

00:50:56.344 --> 00:50:57.763
DIAGNOSED WITH KIDNEY CANCER

00:50:57.846 --> 00:51:00.348
IN MAY OF 1988.

00:51:00.432 --> 00:51:03.560
IN SIX WEEKS HE WAS DEAD.

00:51:03.643 --> 00:51:05.645
Montejano: HE DIED AT 44.

00:51:05.729 --> 00:51:07.063
44.

00:51:07.147 --> 00:51:11.693
WE LOST SOMEBODY THAT WAS
BASICALLY A GENIUS ORGANIZER.

00:51:11.777 --> 00:51:13.695
THAT'S THE WAY I WOULD PUT IT.

00:51:16.406 --> 00:51:18.658
Narrator: WILLIE VELASQUEZ WAS
POSTHUMOUSLY HONORED WITH THE

00:51:18.742 --> 00:51:22.704
PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM,
THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN PEACETIME

00:51:22.788 --> 00:51:26.416
AWARD A U.S.
PRESIDENT CAN BESTOW.

00:51:26.500 --> 00:51:29.252
President Clinton: NO PERSON
IN MODERN AMERICA WHO HAS RUN

00:51:29.336 --> 00:51:33.298
FOR PUBLIC OFFICE, WHEREVER
HISPANIC AMERICANS LIVE, HAS

00:51:33.381 --> 00:51:38.512
FAILED TO FEEL THE HAND
OF WILLIE VELASQUEZ.

00:51:38.595 --> 00:51:41.848
HE MADE THIS A
GREATER COUNTRY.

00:51:44.935 --> 00:51:49.689
THE WORLD CHANGED FOR US IN
A WAY THAT NOW, YOU CAN SEE IT.

00:51:49.773 --> 00:51:52.901
THERE ARE UNITED STATES
SENATORS THAT ARE LATINO.

00:51:52.984 --> 00:51:55.237
YOU CAN SEE THAT
THERE ARE GOVERNORS.

00:51:55.320 --> 00:51:57.030
YOU CAN SEE MAYORS.

00:51:57.113 --> 00:52:03.787
YOU CAN SEE FIGURES THAT ARE
NOW LEADING MANY INSTITUTIONS.

00:52:03.870 --> 00:52:06.081
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL
FLOWERING THAT CAME OUT

00:52:06.164 --> 00:52:08.125
OF THE CHICANO MOVEMENT...

00:52:11.169 --> 00:52:15.632
AND WHAT THAT SAID WAS
WE WERE NOT FOREIGNERS.

00:52:15.715 --> 00:52:21.054
THIS IS OUR HOMELAND, WHICH
WE UNDERSTOOD WAS THE UNITED

00:52:21.137 --> 00:52:26.351
STATES OF AMERICA,
WHERE WE ALL BELONGED.