PROGRAM INFO
- Title:
- Mass Media And Chicanos / Chicanos And Mexicanos In The Great Depression
- Program #
- 1979-41
- Theme:
- Politics
- Series:
- History, Immigration
- Host:
- Richard Goodman
- Guest:
- Richard Goodman
- Date:
- Feb 14, 1977
Mass Media and Chicanos / Chicanos and Mexicanos in the Great Depression
In this episode, Richard Goodman first discusses how Chicanos have used the media to further the movement and how the media has portrayed Chicanos. Summarizing the research of Dr. Francisco Lewels, Goodman explains that while in the early days of print media, Chicano newspapers often failed because the target population was often illiterate and politically apathetic, in the twentieth century, Chicano activists have sought access to the mainstream media to build publicity for their cause. The media however has been unwilling to accommodate their interest and in fact has historically fostered racism perpetuated discrimination. Although some stations offer Spanish language programming from Mexico City, Chicanos want programming that reflects the concerns of their community in the United States. Moreover, they are working to combat the negative stereotypes of Mexicans prevalent in the mass media and advertising. Their protests have led to more coverage of Mexican Americans in the media and new programming at the local level. Goodman concludes that the national media has also become more aware of the problems facing minority communities.
Goodman then discusses the mass deportations and repatriations of Mexicans during the Great Depression. In the aftermath of the crash, immigrants, and especially Mexicans, became considered undesirable aliens subject to deportation. In the early years of the Depression, many returned to Mexico voluntarily. Yet by 1931, private and public welfare organizations began organizing campaigns to deport Mexicans, who they felt took jobs from Anglos. Secretary of Labor William Doak organized many sensational raids and local citizen groups offered to help the federal government deport immigrants. Eventually, the Bureau of Immigration shifted to other less sensational tactics, but they continued to pursue and deport immigrants. Their efforts dramatically reduced Mexican communities in many northern states, while states like Texas and California lost large portions of their Spanish-speaking population. Goodman concludes that this period created a long-lasting sense of alienation among Mexican Americans. This episode is based on research from Abraham Hoffman’s Unwanted Mexican Americans in the Great Depression.
KEYWORDS
Abraham HoffmanAnglo Press
Bakersfield, California
Bill Dana
Boycotts
Bureau of Immigration
Cesar Chavez
Charles Visel
Col. Arthur Woods
Community Programming
Credit Union
Delano, California
Deportation Campaigns
Deportations
Discrimination
Domingo Nick Reyes
El Clamor Publico
El Mal Criado
Ethnic Alienation
Farm Worker March to Sacramento
Francisco Lewels
Frito Bandito
Frito Lay
Herbert Hoover
Ignacio Batiza
Illegal Alien
Illinois
Immigrant Rights
Immigration Policy
Immigration Quotas
Immigration Raids
Indiana
Jose Jimenez
Leonard Pitt
Liberals
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Citizens Committee on Coordination of Unemployment Relief
Mexican American Political Association
Mexican Consul
Mexican Media
Michigan
Minorities and the media
Minority representation in the media
National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement
National Farm Workers Association
National Mexican American Anti-defamation Committee
Nativism
Newspapers
Ohio
Police
Police and immigration
Police Brutality
President’s Emergency Committee for Employment
Private welfare organizations
Race Riots
Racism
Racism in advertising
Racism in the media
Repatriation
Sheriff
Southern California
Spanish International Network
Spanish-language media
Spanish-language newspapers
Stereotypes
Stock market crash
Texas
The Civil Rights Movement
The Decline of the Californios
The Kerner commission
The San Antonio News
The Sun
The Uses of the Media by the Chicano Movement
Unemployment
Unwanted Mexican Americans in the Great Depression
Visas
Voluntary repatriation
William Doak
William Walkins