The Life and Times of Willie Velàsquez
The Life and Times of Willie Velàsquez

Author: Juan A. SepÏlveda, Jr.

Publisher: Arte Publico Press

Published: 2005-08-31

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9781611922066

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William C. "Willie" Velásquez Jr. founded the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP) and was an influential participant in other leading Latino rights and justice groups, including the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and the Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC). From the late 1960s until his untimely death in 1988, Velásquez helped Mexican Americans and other Hispanics become active participants in American political life. Though still insufficiently appreciated, Velásquez holds a unique status in the pantheon of modern American civil rights figures. This critical biography features an introduction by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Former Rhodes Scholar and Velásquez protégé Juan A. Sepúlveda Jr.'s biography of the man provides a first, definitive glimpse into his life and times. Based on Sepúlveda's close personal relationship and exchanges with Velásquez during the SVREP founder's final years, and over a dozen years of research and writing, the book chronicles Velásquez's influences, his landmark contributions to American civic culture, and his enduring legacy. This is the story of both parts of the man: the public and the private. Velásquez's biography sheds light on the nature and price of public leadership in American politics.

The Making of Chicana/o Studies
The Making of Chicana/o Studies

Author: Rodolfo F. Acuña

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2011-10-02

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 081355070X

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The Making of Chicana/o Studies traces the philosophy and historical development of the field of Chicana/o studies from precursor movements to the Civil Rights era to today, focusing its lens on the political machinations in higher education that sought to destroy the discipline. As a renowned leader, activist, scholar, and founding member of the movement to establish this curriculum in the California State University system, which serves as a model for the rest of the country, Rodolfo F. Acuña has, for more than forty years, battled the trend in academia to deprive this group of its academic presence. The book assesses the development of Chicana/o studies (an area of studies that has even more value today than at its inception)--myths about its epistemological foundations have remained uncontested. Acuña sets the record straight, challenging those in the academy who would fold the discipline into Latino studies, shadow it under the dubious umbrella of ethnic studies, or eliminate it altogether. Building the largest Chicana/o studies program in the nation was no easy feat, especially in an atmosphere of academic contention. In this remarkable account, Acuña reveals how California State University, Northridge, was instrumental in developing an area of study that offers more than 166 sections per semester, taught by 26 tenured and 45 part-time instructors. He provides vignettes of successful programs across the country and offers contemporary educators and students a game plan--the mechanics for creating a successful Chicana/o studies discipline--and a comprehensive index of current Chicana/o studies programs nationwide. Latinas/os, of which Mexican Americans are nearly seventy percent, comprise a complex sector of society projected to be just shy of thirty percent of the nation's population by 2050. The Making of Chicana/o Studies identifies what went wrong in the history of Chicana/o studies and offers tangible solutions for the future.

When We Make It
When We Make It

Author: Elisabet Velasquez

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2022-08-30

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0593324501

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"The energy. The clarity. The beauty. Elisabet Velasquez brings it all. . . . Her voice is FIRE!"—NYT bestselling and award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson An unforgettable, torrential, and hopeful debut young adult novel-in-verse that redefines what it means to "make it,” for readers of Nicholasa Mohr and Elizabeth Acevedo. Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican question asker who can see with clarity the truth, pain, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Together with her older sister, Estrella, she navigates the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Sarai questions the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives with determination and an open heart, learning to celebrate herself in a way that she has long been denied. When We Make It is a love letter to anyone who was taught to believe that they would not make it. To those who feel their emotions before they can name them. To those who still may not have all the language but they have their story. Velasquez’ debut novel is sure to leave an indelible mark on all who read it.

Dear San Antonio, I'm Gone But Not Lost
Dear San Antonio, I'm Gone But Not Lost

Author: Bárbara Renaud González

Publisher: AALAS

Published: 2018-10-24

Total Pages: 101

ISBN-13: 9781948955010

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This YA novel tells the riveting story of voting rights champion Willie Velasquez's life and work through letters to his Texas city from the beyond.

Power to the Poor
Power to the Poor

Author: Gordon Keith Mantler

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 0807838519

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Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974

Voting and Political Representation in America [2 volumes]
Voting and Political Representation in America [2 volumes]

Author: Mark P. Jones

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2020-02-24

Total Pages: 827

ISBN-13: 1440860858

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Examines voting trends and political representation in the United States today—with a special focus on debates over voting rights, voter fraud, and voter suppression—and election rules and regulations, including those related to gerrymandering, campaign fundraising, and other controversial subjects. Do average Americans have a voice in Washington? Are they well-represented, or are they marginalized? Do elections reflect fundamental democratic institutions and values, or are they tarnished by voter suppression, voter fraud, gerrymandering, or other factors? To what extent do America's elected officials reflect the diversity of race, religion, gender, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, and political views of the wider American population? This encyclopedia explores all these questions and more. It examines important mechanisms and laws shaping political representation in America in the 21st century, such as term limits, gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and "direct democracy" (ballot initiatives and referendums); and the degree to which various demographic groups are represented in state and federal legislatures, from Latinos and senior citizens to atheists and residents of rural states. It also explains the basis for escalating concerns about both voter fraud and voter suppression.

Tracking King Tiger
Tracking King Tiger

Author: José Angel Gutiérrez

Publisher: MSU Press

Published: 2019-11-01

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 1628953756

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Reies López Tijerina, one of the Four Horsemen of the Chicano Movement, led the land grant struggle by Hispanos in the 1960s to recover the lands granted to their ancestors by Spain and Mexico and then guaranteed by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In his struggle, Tijerina became the target of local and state law enforcement officials in New Mexico and the FBI nationwide. José Angel Gutiérrez meticulously examines thousands of pages of FBI documents, interview transcripts, newspaper reports, and other written accounts on Tijerina and the Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres, the organization of land grant claimants led by Tijerina in New Mexico. The primary source materials that document the U.S. government’s attempts to destroy Tijerina, his family, and his followers complement the secondary literature on Tijerina and his efforts as the premier leader of the land grant recovery movement. Threaded through the volume are glimpses into the special personal relationship between Tijerina and the author.