The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) this month released a detailed timeline of legal battles, union formations, and political strategies used to advance the civil rights of Latin Americans.
Why is this important: The organization’s timeline comes amid a larger discussion about the still marginalization Latinos face across the United States, including health care inequalities and structural racism.
- “It is vital to share the exhibit with all Americans who want to learn more about the social struggle for Latino civil rights,” noted David Contreras, historian of LULAC.
Details: The interactive timeline is a compilation of historical documents, artwork and photos that document the “nearly century-long battle for Latino civil rights,” the organization said in a press release .
- He describes LULAC’s fight to repeal legislation that discriminates against Latinos, known as the “Juan Crow Laws”, which restricted access to public spaces, such as swimming pools, toilets and drinking fountains.
- He also documented a series of successful lawsuits to integrate Texas school systems that separated Mexican children until 1945 because they were “worse dressed and mentally inferior to white children.”
What they say : “The point is, non-Latinos and the younger generation… don’t know what it took for our grandparents and parents to break down barriers, â€LULAC President Domingo Garcia said in a statement.
- “A lot of people are not informed or are basing their facts on disinformation about the real contributions of Latinos in our country,†he added.
