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The KUT Longhorn Radio Network Presents: Mexican American Experience Collection

Audio recordings including interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns in the series "The Mexican American Experience" and "A esta hora conversamos" from the Longhorn Radio Network, 1976-1982.

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PROGRAM INFO

Title:
Gains Made By Chicanos In The Past 20 Years
Program #
1982-22
Theme:
Society

Series:
Elections, Politics
Host:
Linda Fregoso
Guests:
Gilbert Cardenas, Rudy de la Garza
Date:
Apr 28, 1982

Gains Made by Chicanos in the Past 20 Years

Linda Fregoso discusses the gains made by the Chicano Movement with Professors Rudy de la Garza and Gilbert Cardenas. Fregoso argues that while the movement opened the doors to higher education and equal employment for many, Chicanos still have a long way to go. De la Garza explains that the Chicano Movement certainly helped the U.S. become more democratic and increased Chicano political participation. Yet as Cardenas points out, now Chicanos must protect their political rights and continue initiating new projects.

The guests then discuss some of the criticisms lobbied at the movement and its strategies, and they discuss the importance of affirmative action policies and equal opportunity programs. They also argue that Chicanos should continue to work within the system when that is the most effective strategy, and they praise the efforts of Chicano politicians who are often working behind the signs to support local improvements or promote legislation that serves the Chicano community. The two professors then discuss the case of Crystal City, where Chicano residents voted the Raza Unida Party into political office but found that without economic power, their efforts could still be blocked. Cardenas explains that the Crystal City election improved life for Chicano residents and set an example for other cities.

To protect the movement’s gains, de la Garza and Cardenas argue that Chicanos should continue to organize at both the grassroots and national level, and they discuss the importance of both strategies. They also look at the various ways Chicano professors are contributing to the community and Chicano relations with the Mexican Government.

KEYWORDS

Affirmative Action
Assimilation
Bilingual Education
Budget Cuts
Chicano Movement
Chicano Politicians
Chicanos and Mexico
Chicanos and the Mexican Government
City Services
Coalition Politics
Community Organizing
Congress
Crime
Crystal City
Culture of Poverty
Democracy
Democratic Party
Dropout Rates
Drugs
Education
Electoral Politics
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Gilberto Cardenas
Grassroots Politics
Hispanic Decade
Hunger of Memory
Jose Angel Gutierrez
King Ranch
La Raza Unida Party
Minorities in Higher Education
Neoconservative
Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI)
Political Activism
Political Participation
Political Science
Poverty
Republican Party
Richard Rodriguez
Rudy de la Garza
San Antonio
Sociology
Third Party Politics
Unions
University of Texas at Austin
Uvalde
 

Center for Mexican American Studies | Department of History | The Benson Latin American Collection

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