Young Politics

The Chicana Research and Learning Center not only tried to help young Mexican-American women but also taught them about their history, and helped them organize themselves into politically powerful blocks. These blocks would then be able to leverage their power into real political victories.

One way the Center tried to build these blocks was through community events centered on teenagers. The event shown in the pamphlet is a perfect example of this. The pamphlet combines the civil rights movement (an example of political change caused in part by the voices of Mexican Americans) and art (a way of expression that young people can often connect to), to create a politically conscious youth movement.

Helping the youth become more politically active is important because they will become voters in the future and need to better understand their political system and its effects on them and others in their community. The Chicana Research and Learning Center understood this idea and spent much of its efforts targeting this group, The Center wanted to shape them into a collective that would be able to better advocate for themselves. Just like past generations of teenagers had to fight for representation in schools, this generation would have to fight for better representation in places like Congress.

People need to not only know about but also engage with history, in particular the history of civil rights. The civil rights movement is an ongoing struggle, with many different groups continuing to fight for their rights. Activities like art can help those involved with them engage with the civil rights movement. This is critical to continuing the advocacy that is necessary to further the goals of the movement