Discussion Questions for 10/3

Establishing An Identity
Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans were confronted by contradictory messages: on one hand, patriotism and democratic ideals; and on the other, exclusion from the justice, respect, dignity, and equality embedded in the ideology of Americanism and democracy.
Discussion: What type of exclusion is being referred to? How did they respond to these injustices?



Identity politics creates a binary vision of society, and contrasts the social, political, and occupational privilege of the dominant class as compared to the discrimination faced by the oppressed group.
Discussion: What are some of the strategies of identity politics? How did the oppressed class fight back?



Much of the early seventies activism of the Puerto Rican community was propelled by the various Puerto Rican student and youth organizations, like the Young Lords Party, which emerged in New York in the mid-1960’s
Discussion: How did the Young Lords Party begin? What did they call for? What actions did these groups do in order to push for social reform within the urban barrios?


El Plan de Aztlán
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán sets the theme that the Chicanos (La Raza de Bronze) must use their nationalism as the key or common denominator for mass mobilization and organization.
Discussion: What was the reason for creating this? What were some organizational goals associated with this plan? How did they plan to carry these out?


I am Joaquin/ Notes from a Chicana “Coed”
These poems depict a difference in genders and varying attitudes among genders within the movement. Chicanismo- the ideology of cultural nationalism- was a gendered ideology, assigning different roles to the males and females within the movement.
Discussion: What were these varying ideologies? How did these ideologies manifest themselves within the movement?



Chicanas Speak Out
The oppression suffered by Chicanas is different from that suffered by most women in the country. Raza women suffered a triple form of oppression: as members of an oppressed nationality, as workers, and as women.
Discussion: What forms of oppression were the women confronted with? How did the male members react and respond to these injustices?