Chicanos

History of the Term

The most agreed-upon definition of the term Chicano refers largely to individuals who trace their origins to the southwest. The term Chicano also comes with some negative references, applied in the early 20th century to immigrant laborers from Mexico; the label implied a low or inferior form of worker. Despite this negative label, Mexican immigrant workers were desired by agricultural interests in the United States during that era, and were recruited to fill labor shortages in the southwest and midwest.

As recruiters in the United States were paid for each laborer they could secure, the recruitment effort became so intense that recruiters would literally snatch potential workers as they were crossing the border. Further recruitment took place in Mexico's interior. Not until the Great Depression did Mexican immigrant workers stop coming into the United States. By the 1930s, Mexicans and Mexican Americans were repatriated to Mexico.

The term also is said to have a reference to illegal forms of behavior known as chicanery, which [Page 478]refers to individuals who engage in unlawful behavior. As a result, the term Chicano implied deviant behavior. In the 1940s, Chicanos were considered deviant by way of their anti-American behavior during World War II, with their wearing of zoot suits and open display of their flamboyant lifestyle while others were rationing food and other material goods. Chicanos became targeted for their chicanery behavior and were assaulted by G.I.s, resulting in the Zoot Suit Riots.

By the 1970s, the term Hispanic, employed by the U.S. government, attempted to hijack the popularity of the term Chicano. Under the Nixon administration, the term Hispanic began as a label for the growing Spanish-speaking population. In short, the term Chicano was being replaced in order to lump all Hispanics into one category.

Chicanos can be found throughout the United States, with political leanings toward progressive and liberal agendas. Chicano historian Rodolfo Acuña, in his book Occupied America: A History of Chicanos in the United States (used in most Chicano Studies courses) suggests that Chicanos are an occupied people, as Chicanos have been denied their rights through a prolonged struggle. Chicanos, once landowners, succumbed to violence or illegal methods of having their land stolen from them and found themselves as laborers. According to Acuña, the history of Chicanos is one of a people who have been denied their rights and opportunities in the United States.

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