PROGRAM INFO
- Title:
- The Mexican American Youth Organization
- Program #
- 1978-34
- Theme:
- Politics
- Series:
- Social Issues
- Host:
- Armando Gutiérrez
- Guests:
- Anna Mendez, George Ozuna, Patricia Hernandez
- Date:
- Aug 1, 1978
The Mexican American Youth Organization
Patricia Hernandez, Anna Mendez, and George Ozuna discuss the history of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO), issues facing Chicano students, and the future of the Chicano Movement. MAYO began in 1968 as a political vehicle for organizing and working with the Chicano community. Since then, MAYO has worked to increase Chicano political awareness. In this pursuit, they have organized Chicano studies programs and have demonstrated against the Bakke Case, police brutality and other issues that affect Chicanos. Hernandez believes that throughout these activities women have had a presence and a voice in the movement.
They then address youth activism and they believe there is a resurgence of interest in MAYO and the Chicano Movement. They discuss tactics and express support for legal demonstrations while acknowledging that protests have been all to easily ignored in the past. They say that while there has been an increase in the number of Chicano administrators not all have been responsive to the needs of Chicano students.
In the last portion of the interview, the students talk about participating in electoral politics. They mention the need to have politicians with a genuine interest in helping the community and suggest that electoral efforts, such as those made by La Raza Unida, have been most successful in areas with a large concentration of Chicanos. They conclude with a positive vision of Mayo and the Chicano Movement’s future, hoping that they will continue organizing and raising people’s consciousness, especially at the high school level.
KEYWORDS
Affirmative ActionAnglo Chicano Relations
Center for Mexican American Studies
Chicano Administrators
Chicano Movement
Chicano Politicians
Chicano Representation
Chicano Studies
Chicano Youth
Community Organizing
Crystal City, Texas
Demonstrations
Future of the Chicano Movement
Jose Angel Gutierrez
La Raza Unida
Laredo, Texas
March
Mario Compean
Mexican American Youth Organization
Plainview, Texas
Police Brutality
Protests
San Antonio, Texas
St Mary’s University
Student Activism
Student Movements
Texas politics
The Bakke Case
The Winter Garden Project (WGP)
University of Texas at Austin
Women in the Chicano Movement
Youth Culture
Youth participation in the Chicano Movement