Page 1 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide The Rise and Fall of the Discussion Brown Buffalo GUIDE Volume 1., No. 1, February 2018 Table of Contents:

About The Film 2

Using This Guide 2

EDUCATION: Students Are Leading a Movement! 3

SOCIETY & CULTURE: La Lucha Continua! Amplifying Chicana Feminist Voices 5

OP-ED: A Letter from Dorinda Moreno to Oscar Acosta 9

PHOTO JOURNALISM: Oscar Acosta Riles Court Room with Flowers and Flamboyance! 12

How to Access this Film The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo airs nationally on PBS on FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2018 AT 9:00 pm Eastern time. Check local listings.

After that date, the film will be available for streaming for a limited time on PBS.org

Public libraries and educational institutions can use their Kanopy accounts to stream the film at Kanopy.com.

BROWNBUFFALOFILM.COM Page 2 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

ABOUT the FILM Using this Guide:

La Raza was a Los Angeles-based bilingual newspaper turned magazine that amplified the voices of The Chicano Rights Movement between 1967 and 1977. With a strong do-it- yourself spirit, the publication began as a tool for organizing, centering social justice, and featuring the work of, often self-made, photographers, journalists, artists and activists. In the filmThe Rise and JESSE CELEDON AS OSCAR ZETA ACOSTA, PHOTO: RAFAEL GARDENAS Fall of the Brown Buffalo, The Rise and Fall of the Brown Channeling the spirit of the Acosta recounts his first visit Buffalo is a fresh and genre-defying psychedelic 60s and the joyful to ’s underground film about the life of radical Chicano irreverence of “Gonzo” journalism, headquarters — an operation lawyer, author and countercultural The Rise and Fall of the Brown kept quiet due to its radical icon, Oscar Zeta Acosta — the basis Buffalo shows Acosta’s personal exposure of racism and for the character Dr. Gonzo in Fear and creative evolution playing out inequality. At first, the group and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by against the backdrop of a society in expressed concern that Acosta his friend and legendary journalist- turmoil. Beginning with his origins might be a government plant provocateur, Hunter S. Thompson. in segregated rural , then sent to spy on their activities. to his stint as a Baptist missionary When he explained that he was The author of two groundbreaking in the jungles of Panama, to his writer and trained attorney, autobiographical novels, radicalization in the Chicano they identified Acosta as an Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo movement of the late 60s, and finally ally positioned to support their and The Revolt of the Cockroach his mysterious disappearance off the People, Acosta’s powerful literary coast of Mexico in 1974, Director cause, and welcomed him into voice, brash courtroom style, and Phillip Rodriguez offers a vision of a the fold. This guide’s format and notorious revolutionary antics complex figure at once wholly unique design has been inspired by La made him a revered figure within and emblematic of a generation. Raza’s aesthetics. Each section the of the 1960s offers information, followed by and 70s, and offered one of the most Relevant now more than ever, The methods for group engagement brazen assaults on the status quo and Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo including questions for deeper white supremacy seen at the time. explores issues of racial identity, thinking, activity suggestions, Yet, Acosta is more known for his turn criminal justice, politics, and media and suggested resources for as Thompson’s bumbling sidekick in representation, while revealing the deeper study. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas than personal story of a troubled but for his own work exposing racial bias, brilliant man coming to terms with hypocrisy, and repression within the his identity and finding meaning in California justice system. the struggles of his people. Page 3 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

EDUCATION Chicano Students Are Leading a Movement!

The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo introduces Oscar Zeta Acosta’s involvement with the Chicano student movement. When 15,000 kids walked out of school, challenging the discriminatory educational practices is East Los “CHICANO POWER (ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL WALKOUTS),” 1970 Angeles schools, the organizers were PHOTO: OSCAR CASTILLO charged with felony conspiracy for of the civil rights movement, for fair compensation and working “disturbing the peace.” Acosta, a new pushing forward ideals of self conditions for farm workers, igniting lawyer without much experience, determination, equal access, and a national boycott on grapes that took the case on, defending the distribution of political power. The began in 1965. Through worker strikes activists against threats of life in experience of Mexican-American and hunger strikes, the workers made prison. students was in particularly dire headway in 1970, when grape growers shape. A ban on speaking Spanish in signed agreements acknowledging The Precursor schools contributed to the pushing of America Before the Chicano Movement of the of Mexican-American students into (UFW) as a union. Art that celebrated 1960s burst into action, the 1940s vocational training programs and Chicano culture and history began and 50s saw significant strides in the special needs classrooms, regardless to cover community walls. A shifting quest for Latino-American justice. of the individual’s actual interests consciousness was revealed as the In 1947, Mendez v. Westminster or needs. Students began to call into Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo — the Supreme Court was a case that question eurocentric curriculums 1848 agreement that ended the barred the segregation of Latino that ignored their history, culture, Mexican-American War, resulting children from white children in and lived experiences. The high in Mexican territory becoming the schools — predating Brown v. Board dropout rates proved that these Southwestern U.S. — was thrown into of Education’s striking down of discriminatory practices were question. Believing it to be Aztlán, “separate but equal” as a violation working to discourage Mexican- their ancestral homeland, Chicano of the United States Constitution. In American students from pursuing radicals demanded the land be 1954, Hernandez v. ensured higher education. returned to its people. the 14th amendment rights to all racial groups, not just black and The Inspiration The Action white people. These landmark cases Energy was bubbling as the Civil This growing energy erupted the snowballed into a growing call for Rights Movement was fightingweek of March 1 to March 8, 1968, change. for African-Americans’ rights. For when approximately 15,000 students young , role models like walked out of classes from local High The Student Struggle Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Schools with demands for an equal, Young people stood on the forefront were gaining traction in their fight high quality, and culturally-relevant Page 4 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

Questions For Deeper Thinking: ƒƒ How was the Chicano struggle a mirror of, or connected to, the other movements of the 1960s?

ƒƒ How is this struggle still relevant today? Can comparisons be drawn between the Chicano student movement walkouts with the self-organizing of the Dreamers? Can comparisons be drawn between other LA MARCHA POR LA JUSTICIA, BELVEDERE PARK, JAN. 31, 1971 COURTESY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER communities under threat? AND THE UCLA CHICANO STUDIES RESEARCH CENTER © LUIS C. GARZA education. The police were on site student body, and improvement of ƒƒ After reviewing the East L.A. with hard helmets, arresting students, school facilities. students’ demands for change, or leading them back to the school what still resonates today? Are administration. Like other civil rights However, the momentum diverted some of these demands still relevant? Which ones? Why? protests, students were villainized, to an urgent civil rights legal battle and even beaten by authorities. This when 13 of the walkout organizers week of action became known as The were arrested on felony conspiracy East L.A. Student Walkouts. charges for “disturbing the peace.” Activity: Demand The L.A. 13 became a high profile The Outcome case, represented by Oscar Zeta Change! In the wake of the student walkouts, Acosta and drawing media attention to the spectacle of the courtroom. The Inspired by the Chicano student the Educational Issues Coordinating movement, identify what fires you up educational demands were largely Committee (EICC) was formed in relation to civil rights that are at risk, forgotten. to continue the fight for equal or under attack. Who is the authority student rights. The group was figure or organization in charge of comprised of community members But, eventually, the students’ efforts decision-making? What would your list and representatives from other ushered in some change. The of demands call for? Become agents of significant Chicano rights groups: Department of Health, Education change by researching or creating your the , United Mexican- and Welfare, and the U.S. Supreme own petitions online with the help of an American Students, and The Young Court supported the student’s claim online platform such as change.org, and Citizens for Community Action, that barring non-English speaking invite your friends, family and networks to spread the word. along with local newspapers La Raza students from getting an education and Inside Eastside. In a meeting was unlawful. In 1974, Congress Take the action further by organizing a held on March 11, 1968, the students passed the Equal Opportunity Act, equipping public schools with an day of engagement in your community presented a list of 39 demands to through civil rights activist tools and increased number of bilingual the Los Angeles Board of Education. tactics. This might be a skillshare education programs. The core of their needs centered on workshop, a public protest, boycott or academic changes to the curriculum intervention, a social justice art making to provide culturally relevant Read the full list of student demands party, a discussion circle, a “zine” — a history in textbooks, bilingual of the Los Angeles Unified School community-sourced photocopied or web education, the recruitment of staff District, here: http://latinopia.com/ publication--or another form of change and administration that mirrored latino-history/ela-high-school-walk- activation. the identity of students in schools out-demands/ with a primarily Mexican-American Page 5 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

Further SOCIETY & CULTURE Resources La Lucha Films: A Class Apart: The first major film to bring to life the heroic post-World War II struggles of Mexican-Americans against Continua! the Jim Crow-style discrimination targeted against them. A Class Apart is Amplifying built around the landmark 1951 legal case Hernandez v. Texas, in which an Chicana underdog band of Mexican-Americans from Texas bring a case all the way to Feminist the Supreme Court,and win.

And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him: Voices A Mexican boy’s (Jose Alcala) family (Daniel Valdez, Rose Portillo) struggles to earn a living in 1950s America.

Famed labor organizer Cesar Chavez: “The oppression suffered by and the sexism embedded in United and civil-rights activist Cesar Chavez Chicanas is different from that States culture. In The Rise and Fall of (Michael Peña) is torn between his duty the Brown Buffalo, the filmmaker is to his family and his commitment to suffered by most women in this conscientious in his inclusion of women securing a living wage for farm workers. country. Because Chicanas are part of an oppressed nationality, characters, bringing often buried voices Stand and Deliver: Inspired by a they are subjected to the racism to the forefront filling in historical gaps. true story, inner-city teacher, Jaime practiced against La Raza. Since Escalante, inspires a classroom of the overwhelming majority Taking this learning further, The Chicana rebellious remedial students to excel in of Chicanos are workers, Feminist Movement was an important mathematics. Chicanas are also victims of response to the internal discriminatory the exploitation of the working problems within the activist community. Walkout: A teacher (Michael Peña) class. But in addition, Chicanas, rose in the late 1960s becomes a mentor to Chicano high- along with the rest of women, as a response to women’s domestic school students protesting injustices in are relegated to an inferior roles in broader Mexican and Mexican- public schools in 1968. position because of their sex. American culture, in addition to being Thus, Raza women suffer a triple a specific response to women’s roles in form of oppression: as members the Chicano Movement. It served as a Books: of an oppressed nationality, as connective tissue between the Chicano Chicano Movement For Beginners by workers, and as women.” Movement and the Women’s Liberation Maceo Montoya and Ilan Stavans PhD – Mirta Vidal (1971) Movement, which was eurocentric and often did not address the concerns and The Revolt of the Cockroach People by As electric and affecting as Oscar Zeta needs of women from different racial Oscar Zeta Acosta Acosta was in his ability to rally and and ethnic backgrounds. The movement create change, he was also known for was considered officially launched at Change from the Inside: My Life, the the 1969 Chicano Youth Liberation Chicano Movement, and the Story of dismissive and often sexist orientations Conference, where women began to an Era by Richard Alatorre and Marc towards women in the movement. He assert that their voices and demanded Grossman was not alone. Relegating women to the “household” roles was a common issue in that contributions and gender-specific the Chicano Movement — a reflection of concerns be included, honored, and both traditional Mexican gender values, uplifted. Page 6 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

mandating segregation. The Mendez in Spanish, the 1962 legislation v. Westminster School District case repealing the , Chicana Activists paved the way for Brown v. Board of the 1963 legislation to extend the Education in 1954. federal program Aid to Families you should know... with Dependent Children (AFDC) Anna Nieto-Gómez was an early Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa was a to California farmworkers, and the Chicana movement member, scholar highly influential American writer 1975 California Agricultural Labor and publisher who addressed and scholar of Chicana cultural Relations Act. issues such as gender and sexuality, theory, feminist theory and queer childcare, reproductive rights, theory. Born to two fieldworkers, Martha P. Cotera is a librarian, and the feminization of poverty she followed her parent’s writer, and activist of the Chicano through her work. Her entry into encouragement to pursue education. Civil Rights Movement and the the movement began in 1967, After receiving her M.A., in 1977, Chicana Feminist movement. when she became involved in the Anzaldúa began to teach high- Her efforts span a number of Mexican-American student rights school English, advocate for children organizations, roles and positions. movement through her time at of migrant workers , and write and She was a founding member of California State University at Long lecture at different universities. TEAMS (Texans for Educational Beach, where she founded the She went on to teach creative Advancement for Mexican- feminist Chicana newspaper, Hijas writing and literature at a number Americans), — a network of de Cuauhtémoc. Her commitment of universities, and wrote several educators that supported the East to feminism deepened when books. Her most-known works are L.A. student walkouts — and Jacinto she was elected President of the This Bridge Called My Back: Writing Trevino College, which became the student organization el Movimiento By Radical Women of Color, an Juarez-Lincoln University, a college Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán. In anthology she co-edited, and her for Mexican-Americans to prepare protest of a woman representing own Borderlands/La Frontera: The teachers for bilingual education their organization, male students New Mestiza and the concept of programs. In 1972 Cotera ran for a created a model of Nieto-Gomez, mestizaje and the “New Mestiza.” seat on the the board of education and hung her in effigy. Neito-Gomez through the Raza Unida Party, went on to work in the Department Dolores Huerta is a prolific and when marginalized by male of Chicano Studies at California American labor organizer and civil members, she and other women State University, Northridge, where rights activist who co-founded the established Mujeres de La Raza Hijas de Cuauhtémoc was developed National Farm Workers Association, Unida (Women of the Raza Unida) into Encuentro Femenil, the first which later became the United Farm to address issues of gender disparity Chicana Feminist scholarly journal. Workers. Alongside Cesar Chavez, within the party. Cotera also co- Huerta helped to organize the 1965 founded The Texas Women’s Political Felicita Mendez’s family was an Delano grape strike, which led to Caucus and the non-profit Chicana important precursor to the Civil her role as lead negotiator in the Research and Learning Center in Rights Movements of the 1960s. workers’ contract that followed as Austin, Texas. In 1975 Cotera held After three of their children, a result. Huerta’s history includes a special staff consultancy with the including Felicita, were turned fighting for economic improvements Benson Latin American Collection at away from schooling for “being for Latinos through helping to the University of Texas. too dark,” the Mendez family start the Stockton Chapter of the collaborated with United Latin Community Service Organization Norma Alarcón is an author, American Citizens (LUCAC), suing (CSO) (1955). She set up voter professors and publisher/founder four local school districts, including registrations drives through of Third Woman Press. She is a Westminster and Santa Ana, for the 1960s and co-founded the major figure in Chicana feminism. segregating their children and Agricultural Workers Association. Alarcón served as a Comparative 5,000 others. The Mendez family Beyond organizing, Huerta’s efforts Ethnic/Indigenous Studies, Women’s won the case on February 18, in lobbying for laws that improve Studies, and Spanish professor at 1946. This effort resulted in the the lives of farmworkers garnered UC Berkeley, and is the founder and passage of The Anderson bill, which wins such as the 1960 bill to permit publisher of Third Woman Press. repealed all California school codes Spanish-speaking people to take The journal began in 1979 as a the California driver’s examination measure to increase dialogue with, Page 7 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide and visibility of, writings by women of color and Latinas. The journal Questions For was published in six issues, each focusing on a different geographical Deeper Thinking: region of the United States, before ƒƒ Why was it important for transforming into an independent Chicana women to carve press in 1987. Third Woman Press their own distinctive space ran until 2004, publishing over within the larger Chicano thirty books and anthologies. Movement? Gloria Arellanes is an influential ƒƒ How do we see Oscar Zeta political activist in the development Acosta talking to or about of Chicana feminism, and is women in the film? Based Activity: Amplify known for her involvement with on what you know and the Brown Berets during the have seen, do you think he Underheard Voices Chicano Movement. During her acknowledges women as his time as a member of the Brown There is no such thing as being peers? Berets, Arellanes worked on “voiceless.” While every person is born building community programs and with a voice, a unique expression ƒƒ Consider the term coordinated the Barrio Free Clinic, of their original personhood, it is intersectionality — the which was the Berets first effort. In oppressive forces in society, both interconnected nature of 1969, Arellanes became the official invisible and visible, who select which social categorizations such clinic director; however, Arellanes voices are valued, forefronted, and as race, class, and gender left the Brown Berets due to gender listened to on both local levels and the as they apply to a given inequality perpetuated by the male world stage. Being careful not to speak individual or group, regarded members. She wrote a resignation for, we can create allyship with those as creating overlapping and letter that outlined the reasons she, whose voices are trampled, overlooked, interdependent systems and other women, were breaking and undervalued by using our position of discrimination or away, signing off with “Con Che!”, to amplify the voices of others, and disadvantage. What were a nod to Che Guevara’s stance on creating platforms for uplifting their some of the intersecting messages and stories. equality among the sexes. identities at play in the Chicana Feminist Unfortunately, despite the power of the Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short Movement? Is the concept of movement, it is still difficult to find in- story writer, novelist, and essayist, intersectionality still relevant depth information about the history of whose work explores the lives today, and in what ways? Chicana Feminism online. How can you of the working-class. Now the help to further their legacy, and help recipient of numerous prestigious ƒƒ In what ways do women still center their history and work? Using the awards and fellowships, Cisneros fight for visibility, equity and biographies of the Chicana Feminists in was also the first female Mexican- dignity in the United States this guide, create homages to the women American writer to be published and beyond? featured. Draw a portrait of, write a by a mainstream press. Her 1989 poem about, search for a quote from, or book, The House on Mango Street, simply write a one-line biography of the challenged familiar forms, and leader — and share on social media. thematically addressed gender inequality and marginalization You might also consider centering/ through her strong voiced twelve amplifying a group of people you year old narrator, Esperanza. connect with, whose voices are Cisneros is also known for other challenged, silenced or rendered works of fiction, a memoir and invisible by people in power — women, poetry. She often mixes the Spanish people of color, migrant communities, language in with her primarily the economically disadvantaged, people English-language texts. with disabilities, imprisoned people, etc. Page 8 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

expectations, class constrictions, family duty, and her own personal aspirations.

Writings: Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Gloria Anzaldúa

¡Chicana Power!: Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement (Chicana Matters) by Maylei Blackwell

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa

From Jim Crow to Jay-Z, Race, Rap and the Performance of Masculinity by Miles White

The Macho Paradox by Jackson Katz

The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity and Love by bell hooks

“How the Myth of the Artistic Genius Excuses the Abuse of Women” by VINTAGE 1970 PHOTOGRAPH OF CHICANA BROWN BERETS AT A DEMONSTRATION IN Amanda Hess in the New York Times EAST LOS ANGELES, FROM LA RAZA MAGAZINE, VOL. 1 NO. 4. PHOTO: RAUL RUIZ. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/ arts/sexual-harassment-art-hollywood. Chicana traces the history of Chicana html Further and Mexican women from pre- Columbian times to the present. It Online: Resources: covers women’s role in Aztec society, Chicana Por Mi Raza Memory Collective their participation in the 1810 struggle — a hybrid archive, museum, and digital Films: for Mexican independence, their curriculum organized around capturing A Crushing Love, Sylvia Morales’ involvement in the US labor strikes important Chicana and Latina voices sequel to her groundbreaking history in 1872, their contributions to the from the long Civil Rights Era. of Chicana women, Chicana (1979), 1910 Mexican revolution, and their honors the achievements of five Latina leadership in contemporary civil rights activists—labor organizer/farm worker causes. Using murals, engravings and leader Dolores Huerta, author/educator historical footage, CHICANA shows Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez, writer/ how women, despite their poverty, have playwright/educator Cherrie Moraga, become an active and vocal part of the civil rights advocate Alicia Escalante, political and work life in both Mexico and historian/writer Martha Cotera-- and the United States. and considers how these single mothers managed to be parents and effect broad- Real Women Have Curves is a based social change at the same time. humorous and warm-hearted look at a Mexican-American teenage girl coming of age in a boiling cauldron of cultural Page 9 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

OPED A Letter from Dorinda Moreno to Oscar Acosta Organizer, Activist, and Contemporary to Oscar Acosta. Page 10 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide Page 11 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

ƒƒ What aspects of Questions For masculinity does Acosta Activity: Open embody in an empowered Deeper Thinking: way? What aspects are Dialogue, toxic? ƒƒ How do you think Connecting to Moreno reconciles ƒƒ After watching the film, Acosta’s contributions # M eTo o are there root causes and shortcomings? Is in Acosta’s history that there room for both in a Using Acosta’s story as a jumping might have contributed movement? off point, gather a discussion group to the negative aspects of to grapple with the issues of toxic his character? masculinity in modern society. As the ƒƒ What current artists/ #MeToo movement has shown us, leaders do we admire ƒƒ What would happen to bringing to light problematic, and often who also have Acosta in today’s #MeToo abusive behaviors of men in power, is troublesome aspects of climate? How might he a crucial first step to opening room for their behavior? Do we be held accountable for change. What happens next? Involve ignore or excuse their his crossed boundaries? your community in critical dialogue contributions with their by identifying issues, brainstorming What consequences problematic actions? restorative solutions, and creating might he face? commitments to making change on personal and interpersonal levels. Page 12 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

PHOTO JOURNALISM: and members of the Brown Berets and other residents of the area.

• Used controversial defenses that sparked resentment from the LAPD — was often followed and harrassed by law enforcement. OSCAR ZETA ACOSTA (FAR RIGHT), COURTESY OF THE CALIFORNIA ETHNIC & MULTICULTURAL ARCHIVES (EMA), • Proved a pattern of UC SANTA BARBARA LIBRARY discrimination against Mexican- Americans by subpoenaing every member of the Los Angeles County grand jury. He found that 178 judges had never nominated a person with a Spanish sounding surname.

• Used illegal psychedelic drugs while working in the courtroom, OSCAR ZETA ACOSTA, 1971, HUNTER S. THOMPSON & OSCAR ZETA ACOSTA, LAS VEGAS, as he felt they “expanded his PHOTO: ANNIE LEIBOVITZ CEASAR’S PALACE, APRIL 1971, PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN mind.”

• He was linked to the Chicano Liberation Front, an OSCAR ZETA underground organization known for aggressive tactics such ACOSTA RILES COURT as bombings. • Set a judge’s lawn on fire after ROOM WITH FLOWERS being held in contempt of court. • In 1970, ran for Sheriff of AND FLAMBOYANCE Los Angeles County, vowing to do away with the Sheriff’s Fiery, controversial, and flamboyant, Oscar Zeta Acosta’s approach in Department. the courtroom was unconventional, to put it mildly. While these tactics • Used his training as a preacher sometimes caused more harm than good, in other ways, his risk-taking to rally the people. helped create impressive advances in fighting legal discrimination against Mexican-Americans. Tornadoing in with a flower power briefcase, loud ties • Known for flamboyant style, he under his suits, and sometimes even on what he considered mind-expanding had an Aztec god on his business psychedelic drugs, Acosta was a force to be reckoned with. card and a flower-print attaché case adorned with a Chicano Some of his tactics, accomplishments, and controversies: Power sticker.

• 1968, moved to East Los Angeles to join the Chicano Movement and • Wrote two books about his own defend Chicano activists in his role as an attorney. life Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, and The Revolt of the • Represented high-profile civil rights cases such as the Chicano 13 and Cockroach People about the the students who participated in the East L.A. walkouts, as well as Chicano Movement. Page 13 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

you choose to highlight the music of Activity: Spot a a politically-minded singer, or honor your uncle who knows how to rally Buffalo In the Wild the family together to serve meals to the homeless. Who do you know that embodies the spirit of Acosta — a larger-than-life After capturing an image of these personality with the ability to create buffalo’s post an image with a change? caption on social media and tag #brownbuffalo #oscarzetaacosta Calling all photojournalists to #returnofzeta capture an image of the buffalo in its native habitate. You might spot a famous activist, such as Colin Further Kaepernick kneeling during the NFL’s pledge of allegiance in protest Resources: of police brutality, or Emma Gonzalez Autobiography of a student speaking out following the a Brown Buffalo ATTORNEY OSCAR ZETA ACOSTA AT A DEMONSTRATION Parkland School shooting. Perhaps by Oscar Zeta Acosta IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, CIRCA 1970 PHOTO: RAUL RUIZ Questions For Deeper Thinking:

ƒƒ What were Oscar Zeta Acosta’s powerful and useful contributions to the Chicano Movement?

ƒƒ What can we learn from Acosta and co-opt as possible tactics in current day social justice movements?

ƒƒ What actions might you rewrite or redirect if you were able to go back in history and advise Acosta?

ƒƒ Why do you think Acosta named himself Brown Buffalo and his people as cockroaches? What characteristics are called up with this symbolizim?

ƒƒ Do you believe Acosta would have been more or less successful as a lawyer if he presented himself in the more conservative and tradittional demeanor as an attorney in the courtroom? Page 14 The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo Discussion Guide

Credits COVER PHOTO: Attorney Oscar Zeta FUNDING FOR The Rise and Fall of the Acosta at a demonstration in downtown Brown Buffalo and supporting materials Los Angeles. Courtesy of Oscar Castillo. was made possible by:

WRITTEN BY: Caits Meissner

EDITED BY: Caits Meissner, Nicole Gant, Desiree Gutierrez, and Alison Sotomayor

LAYOUT BY: Zinna Riley

PRODUCED BY:

All contents are (c) 2018 City Projects, LLC