Editing Chicano (section)

=== Anti-imperialism and international solidarity ===
{{See also|Anti-imperialism|Third World Liberation Front|Chicano Moratorium}}
[[File:Cuban rebel soldiers in the Habana Hilton foyer, January, 1959.jpg|alt=|thumb|268x268px|The [[Cuban Revolution]] was an inspirational event to many Chicanos as a challenge to [[American imperialism]].<ref name="Garcia-2014" />]]
During [[World War II]], Chicano youth were targeted by white [[Military personnel|servicemen]], who despised their "cool, measured indifference to the war, as well as an increasingly defiant posture toward whites in general".<ref name="McWilliams-1990" /> Historian [[Robin Kelley]] states that this "annoyed white servicemen to no end".<ref name="Kelley-1996" /> During the [[Zoot Suit Riots]] (1943), white rage erupted in [[Los Angeles]], which "became the site of racist attacks on [[Black people|Black]] and Chicano youth, during which white soldiers engaged in what amounted to a ritualized stripping of the zoot."<ref name="Kelley-1996">{{Cite book|last=Kelley|first=Robin|title=Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, And The Black Working Class|publisher=Free Press|year=1996|isbn=9781439105047|page=172}}</ref><ref name="McWilliams-1990">{{cite book|last1=McWilliams|first1=Carey|title=North from Mexico: The Spanish-speaking People of the United States|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1990|isbn=9780313266317|series=Contributions in American History|author-link=Carey McWilliams (journalist)}}{{page needed|date=September 2012}}</ref> Zoot suits were a symbol of collective resistance among Chicano and Black youth against city [[Racial segregation|segregation]] and fighting in the war. Many Chicano and Black zoot-suiters engaged in [[draft evasion]] because they felt it was hypocritical for them to be expected to "fight for democracy" abroad yet face racism and oppression daily in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=Michael James|title=Tell Tchaikovsky the News: Rock "n" Roll, the Labor Question, and the Musicians' Union, 1942–1968|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780822378839|page=60}}</ref>

This galvanized Chicano youth to focus on [[anti-war activism]], "especially influenced by the [[Third World]] movements of liberation in [[Asia]], [[Africa]], and [[Latin America]]." Historian Mario T. García reflects that "these anti-colonial and anti-Western movements for [[Wars of national liberation|national liberation]] and self-awareness touched a historical nerve among Chicanos as they began to learn that they shared some similarities with these [[Third World]] struggles."<ref name="Garcia-2014" /> Chicano poet [[Alurista]] argued that "Chicanos cannot be truly free until they recognize that the struggle in the United States is intricately bound with the anti-imperialist struggle in other countries."<ref>{{Cite book|last=López|first=Marissa K.|title=Chicano Nations: The Hemispheric Origins of Mexican American Literature|url=https://archive.org/details/chicanonationshe00lope|url-access=limited|publisher=NYU Press|year=2011|isbn=9780814752623|page=[https://archive.org/details/chicanonationshe00lope/page/n213 203]}}</ref> The [[Cuban Revolution]] (1953–1959) led by [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Che Guevara]] was particularly influential to Chicanos, as noted by García, who notes that Chicanos viewed the revolution as "a nationalist revolt against '[[American imperialism|Yankee imperialism]]' and [[Neocolonialism|neo-colonialism]]."<ref name="Garcia-2014">{{Cite book|last=Garcia|first=Mario T.|title=The Chicano Movement: Perspectives from the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2014|isbn=9781135053666|page=8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Chomsky|first=Aviva|title=A History of the Cuban Revolution|publisher=Wiley|year=2010|isbn=9781444329568|page=94}}</ref>
[[File:General Emiliano Zapata.jpg|thumb|247x247px|[[Emiliano Zapata]] was a historical icon to some Chicanos.]]
In the 1960s, the [[Chicano Movement]] brought "attention and commitment to local struggles with an analysis and understanding of international struggles".<ref name="Mariscal-2014">{{Cite book|last=Mariscal|first=Jorge|title=Foreword: The Chicano Movement|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2014|isbn=9781135053666|pages=xiv–xv}}</ref> Chicano youth organized with Black, [[Latin Americans|Latin American]], and [[Filipinos|Filipino]] activists to form the [[Third World Liberation Front]] (TWLF), which fought for the creation of a [[Third world college|Third World college]].<ref name="Romo-2019" /> During the [[Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968]], Chicano artists created posters to express solidarity.<ref name="Romo-2019" /> Chicano poster artist Rupert García referred to the place of artists in the movement: "I was critical of the police, of capitalist exploitation. I did posters of Che, of [[Emiliano Zapata|Zapata]], of other Third World leaders. As artists, we climbed down from the [[ivory tower]]."<ref name="Jackson-2009">{{Cite book|last=Jackson|first=Carlos Francisco|title=Chicana and Chicano Art: ProtestArte|publisher=University of Arizona Press|year=2009|isbn=9780816526475|pages=65–66}}</ref> Learning from [[Cuba]]n poster makers of the [[Cuban Revolution|post-revolutionary]] period, Chicano artists "incorporated international struggles for freedom and self-determination, such as those of [[Angola]], [[Chile]], and [[South Africa]]", while also promoting the struggles of [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous people]] and other civil rights movements through [[Black-brown unity]].<ref name="Romo-2019">{{Cite book|last=Romo|first=Tere|title=Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2019|isbn=9781478003403|chapter=To Seize the Moment: The Chicano Poster, Politics, and Protest 1965-1972}}</ref> Chicanas organized with [[women of color]] activists to create the [[Third World Women's Alliance]] (1968–1980), representing "visions of liberation in third world solidarity that inspired political projects among racially and economically marginalized communities" against U.S. capitalism and imperialism.<ref name="Blackwell-2016" />
[[File:El Gallo Chicano-Moratorium Article.jpg|left|thumb|296x296px|Local coverage of the [[Chicano Moratorium]]]]
The [[Chicano Moratorium]] (1969–1971) against the [[Vietnam War]] was one of the largest demonstrations of Mexican-Americans in history,<ref name="Oropeza-2005">{{Cite book|last=Oropeza|first=Lorena|title=Raza Si, Guerra No: Chicano Protest and Patriotism During the Viet Nam War Era|publisher=University of California Press|year=2005|isbn=9780520937994|pages=145–160}}</ref> drawing over 30,000 supporters in [[East Los Angeles, California|East L.A]]. [[Draft evasion in the Vietnam War|Draft evasion]] was a form of resistance for Chicano anti-war activists such as [[Rosalio Muñoz]], Ernesto Vigil, and Salomon Baldengro. They faced a [[felony]] charge—a minimum of five years prison time, $10,000, or both.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Series 1: Publications, 1962–2001 {{!}} Special Collections & Archives|url=https://archives.colorado.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/197899|access-date=2019-12-11|website=archives.colorado.edu|archive-date=2019-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211214243/https://archives.colorado.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/197899|url-status=live}}</ref> In response, Munoz wrote "I declare my independence of the [[Selective Service System]]. I accuse the government of the United States of America of genocide against the Mexican people. Specifically, I accuse the draft, the entire social, political, and economic system of the United States of America, of creating a funnel which shoots Mexican youth into Vietnam to be killed and to kill innocent men, women, and children...."<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Oropeza|first=Lorena|url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3312228|title=La batalla está aquí! : Chicanos oppose the war in Vietnam /|date=1996|archive-date=2019-12-11|access-date=2020-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211214238/https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3312228|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Rodolfo Gonzales|Rodolfo Corky Gonzales]] expressed a similar stance: "My feelings and emotions are aroused by the complete disregard of our present society for the rights, dignity, and lives of not only people of other nations but of our own unfortunate young men who die for an abstract cause in a war that cannot be honestly justified by any of our present leaders."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-07-20|title="Peace is Dignity": How Denver Activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales Viewed the Vietnam War|url=https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/peace-dignity-how-denver-activist-rodolpho-corky-gonzales-viewed-vietnam-war|access-date=2019-12-11|website=Denver Public Library History|language=en|archive-date=2019-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211214249/https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/peace-dignity-how-denver-activist-rodolpho-corky-gonzales-viewed-vietnam-war|url-status=live}}</ref>

Anthologies such as [[This Bridge Called My Back|''This Bridge Called My Back'': ''Writings by Radical Women of Color'']] (1981) were produced in the late 1970s and early 80s by writers who identified as lesbians of color, including [[Cherríe Moraga]], [[Pat Parker]], [[Toni Cade Bambara]], [[Chrystos]] (self-identified claim of Menominee ancestry), [[Audre Lorde]], [[Gloria E. Anzaldúa]], [[Cheryl Clarke]], [[Jewelle Gomez]], [[Kitty Tsui]], and [[Hattie Gossett]], who developed a poetics of liberation. [[Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press]] and [[Third Woman Press]], founded in 1979 by Chicana feminist [[Norma Alarcón]], provided sites for the production of women of color and Chicana literatures and critical essays. While [[First World|first world]] feminists focused "on the [[Liberalism|liberal]] agenda of political rights", Third World feminists "linked their agenda for women's rights with economic and cultural rights" and unified together "under the banner of Third World solidarity".<ref name="Blackwell-2016" /> Maylei Blackwell identifies that this internationalist critique of capitalism and imperialism forged by women of color has yet to be fully historicized and is "usually dropped out of the false historical narrative".<ref name="Blackwell-2016">{{Cite book|last=Blackwell|first=Maylei|title=¡Chicana Power! Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2016|isbn=9781477312667|pages=23, 156–159, 193}}</ref>

In the 1980s and 90s, [[Central America]]n activists influenced Chicano leaders. The [[Mexican American Legislative Caucus]] (MALC) supported the [[Esquipulas Peace Agreement]] in 1987, standing in opposition to [[Contras|Contra]] aid. Al Luna criticized [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] and American involvement while defending [[Nicaragua]]'s [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinista]]-led government: "President Reagan cannot credibly make public speeches for peace in Central America while at the same time advocating for a three-fold increase in funding to the Contras."<ref name="González-2010">{{Cite book|last=González|first=Antonio|title=Chicano Politics and Society in the Late Twentieth Century|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2010|isbn=9780292778634|pages=160–69}}</ref> The Southwest Voter Research Initiative (SVRI), launched by Chicano leader [[Willie Velasquez|Willie Velásquez]], intended to educate Chicano youth about Central and Latin American political issues. In 1988, "there was no significant urban center in the Southwest where Chicano leaders and activists had not become involved in lobbying or organizing to change U.S. policy in Nicaragua."<ref name="González-2010" /> In the early 1990s, [[Cherríe Moraga]] urged Chicano activists to recognize that "the Anglo invasion of Latin America [had] extended well beyond the Mexican/American border" while [[Gloria E. Anzaldúa]] positioned Central America as the primary target of a [[US intervention in Latin America|U.S. interventionism]] that had murdered and displaced thousands. However, Chicano solidarity narratives of Central Americans in the 1990s tended to center themselves, stereotype Central Americans, and filter their struggles "through Chicana/o struggles, histories, and imaginaries."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rodríguez|first=Ana Patricia|title=Dividing the Isthmus: Central American Transnational Histories, Literatures, and Cultures|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2009|isbn=9780292774582|pages=151–154}}</ref>
[[File:March Against Prop 187 in Fresno California 1994 (35357476831).jpg|thumb|222x222px|March against [[1994 California Proposition 187|Proposition 187]] in [[Fresno, California]] (1994)]]
Chicano activists organized against the [[Gulf War]] (1990–91). [[Raul Ruiz (journalist)|Raul Ruiz]] of the Chicano Mexican Committee against the Gulf War stated that U.S. intervention was "to support U.S. oil interests in the region."<ref name="Ruiz-2015">{{Cite book|last=Ruiz|first=Raul|title=The Chicano Generation: Testimonios of the Movement|publisher=University of California Press|year=2015|isbn=9780520961364|page=109}}</ref> Ruiz expressed, "we were the only Chicano group against the war. We did a lot of protesting in L.A. even though it was difficult because of the strong support for the war and the anti-Arab reaction that followed ... we experienced [[Racism|racist]] attacks [but] we held our ground."<ref name="Ruiz-2015" /> The end of the Gulf War, along with the [[Rodney King Riots]], were crucial in inspiring a new wave of Chicano political activism.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mora-Ninci|first=Carlos|title=The Chicano/a Student Movement in Southern California in the 1990s|publisher=University of California, Los Angeles|year=1999|page=360}}</ref> In 1994, one of the largest demonstrations of Mexican Americans in the history of the United States occurred when 70,000 people, largely Chicanos and [[Latinos]], marched in Los Angeles and other cities to protest [[1994 California Proposition 187|Proposition 187]], which aimed to cut educational and [[Welfare spending|welfare benefits]] for undocumented immigrants.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Oropeza|first=Lorena|title=Raza Si, Guerra No: Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Viet Nam War Era|publisher=University of California Press|year=2005|isbn=9780520937994|pages=183–184}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Sanchez|first=Leonel|date=3 January 1995|title=Proposition 187 Led Young Chicanos to Action|work=San Diego Union-Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Denkmann|first=Libby|date=11 November 2019|title=After Prop 187 Came The Fall Of California's Once-Mighty GOP, And The Rise Of Latino Political Power|url=https://laist.com/2019/11/11/prop-187-political-impact-california-latino-participation-power-surges-republican-party-fading.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218054635/https://laist.com/2019/11/11/prop-187-political-impact-california-latino-participation-power-surges-republican-party-fading.php|archive-date=18 December 2019|website=LAist}}</ref>

In 2004, Mujeres against Militarism and the Raza Unida Coalition sponsored a [[Day of the Dead]] vigil against militarism within the Latino community, addressing the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]] (2001–) and the [[Iraq War]] (2003–2011) They held photos of the dead and chanted "[[no blood for oil]]." The procession ended with a five-hour vigil at [[Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural]]. They condemned "the [[Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps|Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps]] (JROTC) and other military recruitment programs that concentrate heavily in Latino and African American communities, noting that JROTC is rarely found in upper-income Anglo communities."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marchi|first=Regina M|title=Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a Cultural Phenomenon|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780813548579|page=80}}</ref> Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara organized a [[benefit concert]] for Latin@s Against the War in Iraq and ''Mexamérica por la Paz'' at [[Self Help Graphics & Art|Self-Help Graphics]] against the Iraq War. Although the events were well-attended, Guevara stated that "the Feds know how to manipulate fear to reach their ends: world military dominance and maintaining a foothold in an oil-rich region were their real goals."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Guevara|first=Rubén Funkahuatl|title=Confessions of a Radical Chicano Doo-Wop Singer|publisher=University of California Press|year=2018|isbn=9780520969667|pages=236–237}}</ref>