CHICANO NATIONALISM: THE BROWN BERETS AND LEGAL SOCIAL CONTROL By JENNIFER G. CORREA Bachelor of Science in Criminology Texas A&M University Kingsville, TX 2004 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE July 2006 CHICANO NATIONALISM: THE BROWN BERETS AND LEGAL SOCIAL CONTROL Thesis Approved: Dr. Thomas Shriver Thesis Adviser Dr. Gary Webb Dr. Stephen Perkins Dr. A. Gordon Emslie Dean of the Graduate College ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ………………………………………………………7 Informants and Agent Provocateurs .........................................................................8 Surveillance, Dossiers, Mail Openings, and Surreptitious Entries ……………….14 Violent Strategies and Tactics ……………………………………………………20 III. METHOD OLOGY……………………………………………………………….29 Document Analysis ................................................................................................30 Telephone Interviews .............................................................................................32 Historical Analysis .................................................................................................34 IV. FINDINGS .............................................................................................................36 Mexican -American History ...................................................................................36 Relations between the Mexican Community and the LAPD: A Historical View ....................................................................................................38 The Emergence of the Brown Berets .....................................................................46 Police Harassment and Brutality ............................................................................52 La Causa (The Cause )......................................................................................53 The 1968 High School Walkout ......................................................................57 The Brown Berets and the August 29th National Chicano Moratorium ....................................................................................................62 Legal Harassment...................................................................................................68 East L.A. Thirteen ............................................................................................69 The Biltmore Six ..............................................................................................71 Info rmants and Agent Provocateurs .......................................................................74 Federal Bureau of Investigation: Brown Berets under Surveillance 1968-1973 ...79 The Brown Berets Disband in 1973.......................................................................97 iii V. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................98 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................105 AP PENDICES ...........................................................................................................114 APPENDIX A-- INTERVIEW GUIDE…………...…………………………...114 APPENDIX B-- INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BO ARD APPROVAL………..115 iv ACKNOWLEDG MENTS I would like to give a special thanks to my Thesis Committee - Dr. Tom Shriver Committee Chair , Dr. Gary Webb, and Dr. Stephen Perkins for their assist ance in this research project. Dr. Shriver has been an awesome advisor, thesis chair, and mentor. He made the thesis process an interesti ng learning experience and gave me hope that this project would get done. Most importantly, Dr. Shriver has been an influential mentor since I arrived at OSU as a first year master’s student. I had just graduated with my bachelor’s degree and had no idea what to expect. However, he somehow assured me every step of the way. As a Mexican -American, I have experienced negative advice about my capabilities since high school. I assumed I was not “college material” and didn’t bother to give college a second thought. Initially, I was going to join the United States Air Force; however, I changed my mind at the last minute and decided to enroll in college . As I began my journey in college, I met influential mentors/advisors, which strengthened my confidence. I did not think about graduate school until my undergraduate advisor/mentor told me that, “I had the potential to get a PH.D.” Now, I have completed my master’s degree and I am planning on obtaining a PH.D. in sociology. I would also like to thank Dr. Je an Van Delinder, Dr. John Cross, and Dr. Ken Kiser for their support in my educational endeavors. And last but not least, I would like to give a special thanks to all the sociology graduate students and department staff v (Barbie, Sue, and Dahlia) for their continued support and assistance in this research especially Wendy Brame, Michele Hough, Stan Hodges, and Jan Mei j. In addition, I thank my best -friend, Dawn Williams, for her emotional support during my roughest times in this project. She always assured me that things would come out okay in the end (and they did). Dawn reminded me that I just had to take it day by day – thank you for always being there. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their endearing support throughout my entire educatio nal career. vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Chicano Movement was flourishing throughout the western states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas in the late 1960’s. The movement was made up of a myriad of non-student and student activist groups in communities, colleges and universities. The main goal of the Chicano Movement was the economical, political and educational advancement of the Mexican community. Despite the growth and development of the movement, by the late 1970’s, the Chica no movement had declined due in part to the social control efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. This study exam ines the decline of a faction of the Chicano Movement known as the Brown Berets by focusing on the role of state soci al control. There were various factions within the Chicano movement that had specific agendas. For example, there were groups protesting against the terrible working conditions of farm workers such as the United Farm Workers , or the paltry representation of Mexican -Americans in city, state, and federal government positions known as La Raza Unida Party . Most of the factions within the Chicano Movement worked together to try and change social policy while working hard to establish upward mobility for all Me xican -Americans. In 1968, the Brown Berets emerged as a social movement in the East side of Los Angeles, California (Chavez 2002; Montes Interview with Author 2006). Thus, the 1 Brown Berets played an important role within the overall growth of the Chica no Movement. M ost importantly, however, by becoming a type of civilian police force formed to battle police brutality and harassment. The group was made of young adults who were fighting f or positive social change among the Mexican community. Initially, the group was involved in local elections for mayoral and school board candidates (Montes Interview with Author 2006). In time, the Brown Berets evolved into a radical group voicing their concerns about the social in justice s occurring in their communiti es. The organization coordinated an d participated in protests regarding several community concerns including police harassment and brutality, unemployment, poverty, and the Vietnam War (Chavez 2002; Lopez 2003). The organization adopted the radicalized te rm Chicano as a new racial identity for Mexi can -Americans (Chavez 2002). Mexican -Americans who participated in the movement did not want to have any connection to American ideology, or the word American because it meant assimilating to their oppressor. Mo st Mexicans felt that the ideology of the “American Dream” was nothing more than a lie, persuading minorities to believe that they could achieve anything in life through education and determination (Chavez Interview with Author 2006; Rosales 1996). Essen tially, they believed that Whites were the only ones who had open access to this dream, while their own avenues were blocked. Participants of the movement delved into their historical roots and created a Chicano cultural nationalism in order to self - identify and organize together in fighting against unjust and discriminatory policies in the educational, political and legal system (Munoz 1989). During the Chicano Movement era of the 1960’s, the term Chicano characterized a separate Mexican nationalist race . The 2 term Chicano stands for, “both Hispanic and Indian” (Burciaga: 49). According to Burciaga (1993: 49), Chicano is more than just a political label for it has a link to our indigenous past. Its etymology dates to the conquest of the Valle de Mexica. Mexica was pronounced ‘Meshica.’ The Spainairds had not a letter for the ‘sh’ or ‘j’ so they put an ‘x’ in its place. Meshico became Mexico… The first Mestizos were born of Spanish soldiers and indigenous maidens. This scorned underclass of ‘half -bree ds’ were called meschicanos, which evolved to schicanos Chicanos is nothing more than an abbreviated form for Mexicanos. During the emergence of the Chicano Movement, the