Category Archives: Labor

JFK’s Last Night Alive

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

JFK spent his last night alive with a room full of Mexican Americans! The above photo was taken at the Rice Hotel, in Houston, on the evening of November 21, 1963.  JFK and LBJ and their wives were the guests … Continue reading →

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What is a movement?

Posted on February 22, 2011 by

On September 16, 1965, the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) voted to join a strike of grape pickers begun by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). AWOC and the NFWA were distinct organizations–the constituency of the first were primarily Filipinos … Continue reading →

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Demand your freedom

Posted on January 17, 2011 by

MLK Day is always a difficult “holiday” for me.  As a historian of the 20th century U.S., and as a person who is deeply committed in both my work and personal life to meaningful progress in eradicating racism, I recognize … Continue reading →

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Latinos Are Human Beings

Posted on December 15, 2010 by

“And I thought he was foolish, this man in his seventies, who had no idea what you must do. But the fanaticism of my twenties shocks me now. As I feared it would.” Annie Dillard, The Writing Life Let me … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History, Immigration, Labor, News, Personal, Politics | 4 Comments

Bracero Stories

Posted on October 20, 2010 by

Last week, Hector Tobar wrote an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times on one man’s history as part of the “Bracero Program.” As Tobar adroitly concludes, “Many things have changed in half a century. And many things have not.”

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Justice for Farmworkers

Posted on October 7, 2010 by

This is a post I created using Storify.

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Why Repealing Birthright Citizenship is More Difficult Than You Think

Posted on August 13, 2010 by

In recent months, the “movement” to repeal jus soli–or “birthright citizenship–seems to be gathering steam. I use the term “movement” cautiously because, at heart, this is really about political posturing by the right. While there are groups of people who … Continue reading →

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Schwarzeneggar supports Jim Crow

Posted on July 30, 2010 by

This  governor of California vetoed SB 1121.  The bill would have ended 70 years of blatant racial discrimination in California by extending the same overtime rights you and I enjoy to the nearly half million farmworkers toiling in the fields. … Continue reading →

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Support Overtime for CA Farmworkers

Posted on July 22, 2010 by

This is a picture of Arturo Rodriguez (UFW President); Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter, CA); Msgr. James Murphy (Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament); and scores of farmworkers. They are kneeling in California’s State Capitol building and praying that Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar … Continue reading →

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Are We Heading to a Race War?

Posted on April 14, 2010 by

Arizona’s state legislature passed “the toughest measure in the country against illegal immigrants” yesterday, requiring police officers to check your immigration status if they have a “reasonable suspicious” you are not “legal.” It also makes it a misdemeanor to not … Continue reading →

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