EMERGING THEMES MEXICAN AMERICAN RESEARCH Perspectives in Mexican American Studies Is an Ongoing Series Devoted to Chicano /A Research
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Emerging Themes in Mexican American Research Item Type Book Authors Garcia, Juan R.; Gelsinon, Thomas Publisher Mexican American Studies & Research Center, The University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) Journal Perspectives in Mexican American Studies Rights Copyright © Arizona Board of Regents Download date 25/09/2021 09:31:47 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/624851 EMERGING THEMES MEXICAN AMERICAN RESEARCH Perspectives in Mexican American Studies is an ongoing series devoted to Chicano /a research. Focusing on Mexican Americans as a national group, Perspectives features articles and essays that cover research from the pre -Columbian Era to the present. All selections published in Perspectives are refereed. Perspectives is published by the Mexican American Studies & Research Center at the University of Arizona and is distributed by the University of Arizona Press, 1230 N. Park Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85719. Individual copies are $15. Subscriptions to Perspectives (3 issues) are $39 for individuals and $60 for institutions. Foreign individual subscriptions are $42 and foreign institutional subscriptions are $66. For subscription orders, contact the Mexican American Studies & Research Center, 315 Douglass Building, the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. Manuscripts and inquiries should be sent to Professor Juan R. Garcia, Department of History, the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. For additional information, call MASRC Publications (602) 621 -7551. Perspectives is abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life. Copyright© 1993 by The Arizona Board of Regents: All rights reserved. ISSN 0889 -8448 ISBN 0- 939363 -04 -6 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES Volume 4 1993 Mexican American Studies & Research Center The University of Arizona Tucson EMERGING THEMES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN RESEARCH editor Juai 'R. García Associate Editor Thomas Gelsinon TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction vii Richard Griswold Chicano Historical Discourse: An del Castillo Overview and Evaluation of the 1980s 1 Jorge Hernandez- The Impact of Seniority Fujigaki Principles on the Status of Mexican Steelworkers in the Midwest: Historical Perspectives 26 Devon Peña, Rural Chicana /o Communities Rubén Martinez, andand the Environment: An Louis McFarland Attiitudinal Survey of Residents of Costilla County, Colorado 45 Christine Marín Mexican Americans on the Home Front: Community Organizations in Arizona During World War II 75 Alberto L. Pulido Mexican American Catholicism in the Southwest: The Transformation of a Popular Religion 93 INTRODUCTION Amajor goal of Perspectives in Mexican American Studies is to stimulate and promote research into previously unexplored areas, suggest and showcase fresh and various viewpoints and approaches, and present new questions and paradigms that will expand the boundaries of our understanding of Mexican Americans. The works included in Volume 4, "Emerging Themes in Mexican American Research," fulfill that goal. Chicano and Chicana historical scholarship of the 1980s was more diverse, fragmented, sophisticated, and complex than that produced in the 1960s and 1970s. These characteristics emerged in large part because Chicano /a and non -Chicano /a scholars alike eschewed old paradigms, and explored new themes, issues, and complexities based on class, gender, and generational differences. That is the theme of Richard Griswold del Castillo's "Chicano Historical Discourse in the 1980s: An Overview and Evaluation." In addition to discussing the literature thematically, del Castillo explains how other forces influ- enced the focus, content, and direction of this research. In the process, he explains why mainstream national publishing houses continue to exclude Mexican Americans from national history text- books. The essay concludes by positing some hopes, caveats and concerns about the future of Chicano and Chicana scholarship, and a research agenda for the future. Mexican American scholars produced significant community and regional studies about the Southwest during the 1980s. However, beginning in the mid- 1980s, a number of studies about Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest appeared as part of a new and emerging scholarship. Among the former are Dennis Nodín Valdés', Al Norte: Agricultural Workers in the Great Lakes Region, 1917 -1970; Zaragosa Vargas', Proletarians of the North: A History of Mexican Industrial Workers in Detroit and the Midwest, 1913 -1933; Forging a Community: The Latino Experience in Northwest Indiana, 1919 -1975, edited by James B. Lane and Edward Escobar; and "Mexicans in the Midwest," the second volume of Perspectives in Mexican American Studies. In essence, these studies are also part of the growing literature in regional and community studies. vii PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES Mexicans and Mexican Americans traveled to the Midwest as early as 1907 to work in the sugar beet fields, or on railroad maintenance crews. Their numbers increased significantly as a result of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The war created a severe labor shortage in agriculture, railroads, and industry. Mexicans and Mexican Americans were recruited by agri- culturists and industrialists to fill that need. One of the industries in which they made up a significant part of the labor force was the steel industry. In 1919, U.S. Steel recruited African American, Mexican, and Mexican American workers to help break the strike that had crippled the steel industry. Once the strike was over, people of Mexican descent continued to labor in steel. What became of those workers is the focus of Jorge Hernandez -Fujigaki's study, "The Impact of Seniority Principles on the Status of Mexican Steel Workers in the Midwest: Historical Perspectives." According to Hernandez-Fujigaki, a major turning point for labor in the steel industry was the 1937 agreement between the Steel Workers Organizing Committee and the Carnegie- Illinois subsidiary of U.S. Steel. The main terms in this agreement were the seniority provisions that gave workers basic rights, protections and guarantees. However, by examining personnel records from the mid- 1950s, he concludes that these seniority principles served to perpetuate the occupational hierarchy that kept Latinos at the bottom rungs of the industry. In 1985 California announced plans to build its first giant hazardous waste incinerator in the middle of East Los Angeles, provoking an outcry from the Mexican American and Hispanic residents of that community. To many, this was one more example of how the Hispanic community's environmental and health concerns were being ignored by decision makers. To challenge the decision, a group of Hispanic women called Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA) battled the state legislature for the next six years. In the end MELA kept both an unwanted prison and the incinerator out of their neighborhood. In1993, President BillClinton's decision to support the North American Free Trade Agreement met with mixed reactions. Initially much of the disagreement centered on its economic implications. Recently, however, the focus has turned to what impact the agree- ment will have on border cities and the environment. viii INTRODUCTION These two events are examples of the kinds of concerns held by Mexican Americans and other Hispanics. Yet, historically, the views and beliefs of under -represented groups regarding environmental issues have been understudied or neglected. The prevailing belief among mainstream environmentalists, scholars, and decision- makers has been that economic concerns are preponderant in shaping the decisions about environmental issues among ethnic communities. That perception is challenged by Devon Peña, Rubén Martinez, and Louis McFarland in "Rural Chicano Communities and the Environ- ment: An Attitudinal Survey of Residents of Costilla County, Colo- rado." The preliminary attitudinal survey they conducted among adults in southern Colorado found that Hispanic residents were very concerned about the impact that mining and exportation of underground water would have on the environment. Residents also favored more ecol- ogically sound economic development strategies for the region. More studies about environmental attitudes of ethnic communities are needed so that their concerns and values are considered in the decision -making process. The present study by Peña, Martinez and McFarland points to one method of measuring these needs, attitudes, and values. World War IIis a watershed in the history of the United States and the world. However, in studying that period, most mainstream historians have overlooked or discounted the contributions and roles of Hispanics. Mexican Americans made great sacrifices in supporting the nation while serving in the armed forces, and on the home front, as well. Not only did Mexican Americans volunteer in unprecedented numbers, they also served valiantly. They emerged from the war as a highly decorated group, and were awarded the greatest number of Medals of Honor. The war itself had a profound impact on Mexican Americans. It significantly changed the demographics of Mexican American com- munities. It altered the cultural norms and values of those commu- nities as young people moved away from home, women entered the work force, and individuals left their insulated neighborhoods as part of their military experience. The war also created heightened expec- tations among Mexican Americans, who believed that their loyalty,