The Brown Power Movement (adapted)

The Brown Power Movement
A Brief History

Origins of the Movement

n The modern Chicano political movement, most scholars agree, began during the mid 1960s -- a time coinciding with the Black power movement.

n In the 1960s, the Chicano movement was both a civil/human rights struggle and a movement for liberation. In this realm, universities became one of the focal points of protest in the movement

n Ada Sosa-Riddell, director of the Chicana/Latina Center, University of California at Davis, says that Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) and Chicano studies represent two of the long-lasting legacies of the Chicano movement.

n "But you can't destroy Chicano studies, she says. "You would have to burn the literature."

Chicano/a Movements

n The struggles in the different parts of the country were many, with separate goals and visions and unique histories.

n Among them: improve the lives of farm workers, end Jim Crow style segregation and police repression, the land grant struggles, the land grant struggles, political representation and self-determination.

n The Chicano movements also included a re-establishment and exploration of cultural and artistic expression.

n Specifically, the struggle for gender equality, access to higher education, immigrant rights and a literary and artistic revolution which spoke to cultural rebirth and a rediscovery of mestizo/indigenous roots and self-definition.

Fragmentation of the Movement

n During this time of great social upheaval, political fervor and cultural rebirth, the Chicano movement was hardly unified. The reasons: lack of historical memory, regionalism and sectarianism, but also government efforts to destroy this nascent movement.

n Yet, once an attempt was made to define the movement and give it an ideology "We began to develop competing definitions as to what the movement was.”

The University

n What differentiates the Chicano movement from earlier Mexican civil rights struggles is its national character, its mass nature and its strong student base at colleges and universities.

n The university became both a political battleground and a focal point of protest regarding its elitist nature in keeping people of color and working class students outside of its doors.

Chicano Studies

n With the advent Chicano studies programs, for the first time, Chicano and Chicana scholars began to produce knowledge about their own community.

n It also allowed Chicanos to see U.S. imperialism. It connected Chicanos to their indigenous roots and Native American studies, he says

The Chicano Movement Continues

n Many scholars maintain that ever since the death of farm labor leader Cesar Chavez in 1993, there has been a resurgence in the Chicano movement, particularly at colleges and universities nationwide.

n This new activism is also being manifested in the current multiracial movement to defend affirmative action in which men and women and members of all races are struggling jointly to fight off the anti-affirmative movement.

Works Cited

n http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html

n http://www.jsri.msu.edu/RandS/research/ops/oc07.html

n http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/mecha/archive/research.html

The Wanderings of a Buffalo

Matt Altstiel
11/2/05
Chicano Lit.

The Wanderings of A Buffalo

The mostly auto-biographical novel, Revolt of the Cockroach People serves it’s a purpose as not only a highly entertaining piece of literature, but also as a sort of primer for those unknowledgeable about the brown power movement. The reader is thrown immediately into the chaos of a Christmas time protest and left confused. Acosta then brings the reader back to his beginnings with the brown power movement, then continues up to and past the Christmas time demonstration. Short asides break the action to alert the reader about central tenants of the brown power movement and how organizers sought to mobilize the population. The story of Buffalo Zeta Brown is one of cultural reclamation, community empowerment, and the enduring power of social justice. The excerpts containing closing arguments, speeches and opinions of Brown offer clear cut reasons to support Chicano power because the issues are pertinent to all people.

Unlike most protagonists featured thus far in the course, Brown represents the ultimate anti-hero. Although constantly engaging in disreputable behavior and befriending what are typically considered unsavory elements of society, the reader cannot help sympathize and be drawn to Brown. The depiction of social behavior makes Brown much more human, complex and believable then a typical Robin Hood style character. The style of writing also creates vivid images to let the reader become part of the experience of social activism of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The bold, concise style Acosta employs presents people and movements how they are in reality: complex and sometimes morally ambiguous. Brown embodies much more than himself; he embodies the Brown Power Movement. Themes of cultural confusion, place within society and what constitutes the Chicano itself frequent assert themselves. In the Revolt of the Cockroach people, Acosta creates a thoroughly engaging, informative and historically relevant piece of literature.

Final Paper (partial)

Matt Altstiel
12/20/05
CHIC 3507

Y No Se Lo Trago La Tierra

The novel, …y no se lo trago la tierra / …And the Earth Did Not Devour Him represents a pinnacle of post-modern as well as Chicano literature. The work has remained a powerful testament to the power of the human spirit more than thirty years after its initial publication. Through a revolutionary use of form, various personal voices and experiences coalesce into a coherent progress narrative highlighting the Chicano experience. Although the author Rivera contends that the novel was written and should be taken as a mere work of fiction and a piece of art, deep critiques of organized religion and social structures emerge throughout. While firmly entrenched within a particular temporal, the late 1940’s – 1950’s, the novel’s themes remain highly relevant in today’s society. This essay examines Rivera’s use of form and structure, as well identifying and analyzing important themes within the novel.

Post-modern literature sought to defy traditional literary structures of every form. Rivera combines the form of the short story and the novel to make a coherent and sustained linear progress narrative. The novel contains twelve named short stories as well as twelve short unnamed short vignettes. The novel occurs over the time frame of an indeterminate year, since one neither knows when exactly that specific year begins or ends. Rivera places the novel firmly within the context of the Korean War era, however does not place the stories within a specific dated year. Presumably, the stories and their subsequent vignettes represent a month within the “lost year” however it is unclear in most circumstances where exactly each event lies. The form employed by Rivera allows for much literary freedom as the writer can encapsulate the entire experience of the Chicano within one year.

While the novel contains an unusual structure, it does contain traditional elements which inform the course of the novel. Through a time-space continuum, the Chicano, identified as the main subject of the book travels through a journey of self-realization. Each segment brings the ‘Chicano’ further along in terms of experience and in terms of self-sufficiency. The first story, “The Lost Year” represents the confusion and displacement felt by the Chicano/a. However, unlike most novels, the novel contains two real climatic short stories which mark a great shift in consciousness. The short stories/chapters “…And the Earth Did Not Devour Him” and “The Portrait” mark crucial moments when the Chicano/a displays agency and changes the outcome for his/her favor. Rivera’s use of form perhaps mirrors the change in attitudes within the Chicano/a community signaled by the Brown Power/ Chicano movement as historical reclamation became highly valued and validated. The novel concludes with the short story, “Under the House” in which the Chicano/a reflects upon the events of the past year, and in remembering owns that history and exhibits control over the future. However, by no means does the end of the novel signify the fulfillment of promise and destiny; Rivera hints that the young boy, like the Chicano/a must face struggles ahead.

The novel’s use of characters helps broaden the scope of the novel to capture the entire experience of the Chicano/a and create a socially relevant piece of fiction. The novel portrays its characters in quite ambiguous terms since the novel does not focus on character. While the novel seems to return to a child/teenage protagonist within the short stories, the vignettes often seem to have no attachment to the young boy or his family. While the voices of the townspeople represent a wide variety of opinions, these voices inform the reader of a unique and culturally embedded consensus. Furthermore, most of the characters remain nameless or pop up very infrequently. This allows for an interpretation that the Chicano/a instead represents the main character, which each narrative bringing together elements to make well-rounded picture of the Chicano/a experience. One gets the sense of unity throughout the novel that is the Chicano/a people as whole who struggle to move beyond the instructions of oppression to forge a common identity and conceptions of success on their own terms.

The author’s use of language helps achieve of creating a compelling and unique Chicano narrative. Indeed, Rivera intentionally makes the Chicano/a his audience by originally writing the novel in Spanish. Furthermore, it is significant that the translation was done by a celebrated poet within the Chicano/a literary community. Written in the language of Chicano/a, a form of Spanish lying outside of academic Spanish as well as Mexican Spanish, Rivera captures the language and the essence of the Chicano/a. Phrases such as “Pierdes conmigo?” represent uniquely Chicano/a versions of language which the reader would immediately find identification with, (Rivera 50). Furthermore, Rivera writes the novel in the tradition of such writers as Ernest Hemmingway, and through the use of short sentence structure and blunt dialogue can convey many interpretations and deep symbolism. A key element of the novel, the vague but realistic use of dialogue further influences the reader to take the text as universal expression of the Chicano due to the interchangeability among language use.

Throughout the course of the novel, through the short stories and vignettes, various reoccurring themes emerge. Among the many themes: religion/faith, racism/injustice, and finally agency/empowerment represent those most prevalent. In addition, the aforementioned themes represent chief thematic elements through Chicano/a literature. Many of the above themes contain an implicit duality that one outcome/experience does not necessarily form opposition to an alternate reality. Therefore, within the novel: life and death, pleasure and suffering, injustice and empowerment, and faith and disbelief all coexist within the realm of shared reality. While it is important to recognize this duality, the element of social commentary and critique that Rivera makes through these themes remains most relevant to this essay.

The subject of faith and religion occurs as a pervasive element in the novel with roughly half of the stories involving some sort of religious significance. Rivera is deeply concerned with faith and organized religion as an impediment to social mobility and empowerment. Rivera openly criticizes blind faith that results in passive existence and ignorance. Furthermore, Rivera counters the infallibility the Church graphically illustrating that all humans share the same urges and desires. The hypocrisy of the Church and ideas of what constitutes sin are examined in “First Communion”. Rivera comments of the absurdity of confession stating, “I had committed one hundred and fifty sins, but I was going to admit to two hundred,” (Rivera 115). In attempt clear his conscious, the boy creates further sacrilege by lying to the Priest. In addition, while it can be left open to interpretation, the sex scene which involves the priest represents the ultimate sacrilege and hypocrisy of organized religion.

However, Rivera does seem to reject organized religion in favor of the mythical / syncretism traditional medicine of the curandero either. Unlike other Chicano works of literature, Rivera proves the methods of the curandera to be ineffectual in returning a son lost in the Korean War. Despite the advice given while in a trance that, “Julianito is fine. He’s just fine. Don’t worry about him anymore. Very soon he’ll be in your arms. He’ll be returning already next month,” the son does not come back from the war, (Rivera 89). The prayers and beseeching from a heartbroken mother do produce results either. Rivera instills his novel with the social commentary that faith alone does not produce results. Faith and reliance upon God’s will must be coupled with the ability to act and not accept situations passively. Faith and religion are personal enterprises that man/woman must practice themselves in order to reconcile the ideological and the actual.

Another theme Rivera deals with extensively are the themes of racism and injustice. Rivera reveals the Anglo-racism inherent among every sector by highlighting unjust treatment both in the territorial heart of Chicano territory as well in the North where migrant laborers headed for the summer. Thoroughly demonstrating unequal treatment Rivera uses pronouns particularly effectively in the passage, “the Mexican kid got into a fight and beat up a couple of our boys…No not bad…but what do I do?” (Rivera 94). Despite the fact the Chicano boy does not start the fight, it is he who is expelled and prevented from gaining an education. The necessity for Chicano education is downplayed as the Chicano is thought to a fieldworker who must accept a particular space on the socio-economic ladder.

The denial of service and unequal treatment was and to an extent remains a pervasive reality of Chicano/a life. A short vignette explains, “the barber told him again that he couldn’t cut his hair. He though the barber didn’t have time, so he remained seated waiting for the other barber. Then it all came clear to him and he went home to get his father,” (Rivera 103). Similarly, the experience of field work clarifies the injustice experienced by the Chicano as they are treated worse than animals by the Anglo establishment. Rivera writes, “the boss had it (water) there for the cattle and when he caught them drinking water there he got angry. They weren’t on contract, but by the hour,” (Rivera 86). In both cases, Rivera shows the consequences on the psyche of Chicano for continued dehumanizing injustice, however; Rivera neither excuses such behavior nor believes that such behavior should be tolerated.

By far the most powerful thematic element in the book, agency/empowerment represents the central premise of the novel. Writing to a Chicano audience, Rivera makes clear his intention that his work be interpreted as an inspirational peace of fiction urging his community to take its future into its own hands. The title short story, “…And the Earth Did Not Devour Him,” shows the rebellious spirit of the book towards institutionalized religion. The boy in the story asks his mother, who relies on the passivity of prayer and supplication to solve family illness and horrible working conditions. The son, who represents the nascent self-consciousness of the Chicano and a new willingness to challenge belief structures scolds his mother, “I tell you, God could care less about the poor. Tell me, why must we live here like this? What have we done to deserve this? You’re so good and you have to suffer so much,” (Rivera 109). The boy rebukes the passivity of his mother, actively criticizing God and the church whom have done nothing in his eyes to help his family. In doing so, the boy demonstrates the agency necessary to bring about the first positive development in the novel. Not only does his family recover from potentially life threatening illness, but “there were clouds in the sky and for the first time he felt capable of doing and undoing anything he pleased,” (Rivera 112). Only by actively challenging a belief system that promotes in action and maintenance of the status quo can one begin to assume control over their life.

Similarly, the theme of agency/empowerment shows the reader that the social and economic equality the Chicano faces on a daily basis can and must be changed. The story the portrait embodies the concept that stiff resolve and resistance counters the Anglo led oppression. When cheated and tricked out of money, a character in the novel does not accept such mistreatment, he confronts it and in doing so receives fair treatment and equality. While most of the Chicano’s do not act and simply accept the loss of their photos and memories to the Anglo salesperson, one man “was so angry that he drove to San antonio.”

Cultural Event Paper

Matt Altstiel
12/05/05
CHIC 3507

From Mexico to Mequon

Standing by the black, iron wrought gates guarding the tombs inside I thought to myself, ‘what the hell man, sitting outside of a cemetery alone on a Tuesday night, this is pretty pathetic.’ Latino families filtered into the cemetery dressed in colors of varying hues and carrying varying offrendas into the gates. Not being Latino myself, my only experience with Dia De Los Muertos had been in Mexico itself, albeit in the highly gringoized town of San Miguel on Cozumel. There had been a procession of native Cozumelians wearing paper Mache skull masks, drummers furiously pounding away on bongos, and a collection of sun-burned gringo gawkers chuckling at the “local spectacle.”

However, here in Minneapolis Dia De Los Muertos was something real. Here were people, presumably from thousands of miles away who had carried this culture and this tradition with them. Gone was the commercialized pageantry, but instead the deep respect for religion and kin which permeated every part of daily life. Watching a wrinkled little man break off puffy offerings of Pan De Muertos to his grandchildren as they entered the cemetery made me think of my own grandparents and family. I had only visited cemeteries for funerals and only remembered seeing people cry and hugging each other for support. But these people seemed happy to be there, happy to spend a night in freezing cold weather in a place reserved for dead people!

I must have looked out of place standing outside those gates because a grinning Latino teenager called out, “Hey ese, you look lost or something?” I looked down at my maroon Minnesota sweatshirt and remembered I was wearing a Sigma Phi Epsilon frat hat. Slightly embarrassed, I explained that I was curious about Dia De Los Muertos and that I was taking a Chicano lit class. The family huddled up in brief conversation, engaged in exclamations and head nodding. They broke the huddle and the teen smiled saying, “Hey carnal, ven con nosotros.”

I felt kind of shady accompanying a family I didn’t even know to a very personal and sacred kind of memorial service. Even so, the warmth of the unexpected invitation and my own curiosity urged me to follow the candle carrying leader in front of me. There were only a few families scattered throughout the cemetery. Most of headstones reflected the generic Nordic names carried by most Minnesotans. The family zigzagged their way through various burial plots and finally stopped in front of a tiny, undistinguished head stone. “Carlos Mendoza: 1910 – 1997 – Esposo, Padre, Amante y Luchador” read the inscription.

At once, the family began taking various items out the bags they were carrying: pictures, food, carpentry tools, toys, and more candles. The assemblage began to take form as the padre lit the candles while the madre arranged the food and pictures. The teenager who had invited me placed the carpentero’s tools on the sides of the ofrenda and laid out a large Minnesota twins blanket on the ground. The little Niña sucked her thumb and held the wooden toys in her other hand. The vieja stood in quiet reverence taking the whole scene in. I stood off to the side, careful to not interrupt anything and tried to observe everything.

One by one each member of the family knelt in front of the headstone, picked up one of the candles nearby and said a prayer to God. Each followed with another prayer to the Saints and to the man they were honoring. The little Niña, too young to remember her abuelo walked around clapping her hands and laughing. The others sat down on the blanket picking up or pointing to various items of the offrenda. For each item there was a story. A rusted hammer: Carlos had used it build the family’s first small house in Yuma, Arizona. A plate of empanadas, huaraches and tortillas chips: the gordo veijo loved to eat. One time, Carlos had entered a chili pepper eating contest forcing the veija to take care of him for a week. The well worn wooden horse the Niña had carried in had its own story: the Mendoza family could not afford store bought toys, so Carlos made them. Laughter and happy conversation celebrated the legacy of the man. Carlos Mendoza was not dead; he came alive each year through the stories and offering. After spending some time with the family, I thanked them for their hospitality and took off.

Walking back to my 98’ Jetta I wondered, ‘Why didn’t my family have this kind of tradition? Why didn’t we embrace and remember the lives of our ancestors at least once a year?’ Thinking about Dia De Los Muertos would be especially poignant this year since one of my good friends had passed away in May.

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During Thanksgiving, some friends and I loaded up my 98 Jetta and headed toward the cemetery. The past seven months without Wittig had not been easy for any of us. Still we remembered, because for us, the Fifa Frat, holding on to memories was much easier than forgetting his life. The six of us walked slowly through the narrow aisles past humble gravestones and huge marble monuments alike. I looked over at my friend CJ, who started to grin and said, “Hey, do you remember when Wittig hung out with the ‘sabertooth’?” We all laughed at the joke that only our friend group would understand. One by one, we each told a funny story about Wittig until we had made it to his grave stone.

The newly installed head stone read, “Matt Wittig 1985-2005”. A short inscription, “To Give Anything Less Than Your All Is to Sacrifice the Gift,” followed. The quote came from Steve Prefontaine, our favorite cross country runner and the man all us idolized in High School. Like Pre, Wittig had passed away before his time, but had died doing what he loved. Perhaps seized by the spirit, my friend Dustin began to talk to Wittig, telling him about the past months. We all joined in, as if Wittig were there, ready to respond and talk back to us. By the time I looked down at my watch nearly an hour had past. We left vowing to return with race jerseys, music cds, and Green Bay Packers gear as soon as the weather got warm.

We all left with a serene calm feeling in our hearts, a feeling I have experienced only a few times in my life. For me, the spirit of Dia De Los Muertos became tangible that day. Death did mark the end of some one’s life; it only marked a change in relationship. The duality present in every portion of life makes sense to me. Dia De Los Muertos for me represents the proper response for dealing with death. There are no absolutes, no fixed immutable truths, but rather, for better or for worse, we all have agency.

Buffalo Zeta Brown

Matt Altstiel
11/8/05
Chicano Lit

The Anti-Hero’s Hero

The character of Buffalo Zeta Brown, the protagonist of Acosta’s Revolt of the Cockroach People represents the ultimate anti-hero. Brown represents both the high ideology of a social movement and the moral vacuity of political power. As a result, Brown is at times enviable for his social conviction and dedication to a just cause. At other times however; Brown engages in the type of dangerous and illegal behavior that disgusts the reader. Therefore, the author Acosta presents the reader with a challenge, what is the overall impression of Buffalo Zeta Brown? Why are selected details included about the activities and thoughts of Brown while certain elements are neglected altogether?

Brown comes across as a likeable, yet morally conflicted character who blurs the line between insanity and rational thought. As a narrator, he identifies certain vices: marijuana, alcohol and women early on. However, as the he becomes more deeply involved in the movement, it seems the appetite for such said vices grows. Brown takes powerful narcotics, participates in the destruction of private property, openly encourages disregard for the law, and has sexual relations with girls up to twenty years younger than him. Yet, weighed against the dedication and importance of his presence within the movement, such acts become tolerable and easier to dismiss. Brown inspires allegiance with his commitment to social justice and defense of fellow Chicanos. His position as a lawyer allows Brown to legally contest unjust laws and policies. Since his career choice garners respect from the establishment, Brown is able to be taken more seriously than his counterparts and emerges as a vocal leader with the ability to force social change. While a complex, morally ambiguous character, Buffalo Zeta Brown nevertheless comes across as highly likeable, respectable and most importantly, real character.

Barefoot Heart

Matt Altstiel

10/19/05

Chicano Lit

From Walking Barefoot to Wearing Designer Shoes

In the first portion of Barefoot Heart, Elva Trevino Heart reflects on her early childhood and experience as a migrant worker in Minnesota and Wisconsin. While a personal memoir and auto-biography, Trevino places her self back to that time period without much reflection. Trevino simply seems to report to the reader the certain events that particularly stood out in her memory. This matter of fact tone and simple use of language perfectly mirror the time period of which she writes, childhood. Particularly interesting is Trevino’s own selective memories and including what was important for her at the time. Family, friendship, and experiencing love rank as the paramount interests and concerns for young Elva. Concerns such as social justice, working conditions, and attaining financial freedom do not emerge as central issues until later in the autobiography. Therefore, the novel follows a logical path: as the author matures, so to does the subject matter, the language and style of the memoir. Later in the novel, analysis is given and early events take on particular significance in defining her attainment of social and economic success.

One glimpses through the memories of Trevino the difficulties faced by migrant families. The constant cycle of movement, back-breaking labor and responsibility required of her parents left little time for affection and family bonding. The first portion of novel presents young Elva as a shy introvert who asks for and expects little. Life-lessons were imparted through hours of work and avoiding shame from society and within the family itself. However, Trevino’s situation it is made clear is in no way unique, and is imbedded in the experience of every migrant worker. Also apparent, without direct commentary is a certain racism that goes unchallenged, at least by the young Trevino. References such as segregated schools in Texas and a white family’s reluctance to allow their daughter to play with Elva clearly portray this theme. The first half of the novel does an excellent job laying the ground work for the transformation which occurs in the second and third portions of the book. The first half shows where Trevino has come from and makes the second half that much more impressive.