Ethnic Community Builders
Mexican-Americans in Search of Justice and Power
By (author) Francisco Jiménez, Alma M. García, Richard A. Garcia
Publication date:
02 August 2007Length of book:
334 pagesPublisher
AltaMira PressISBN-13: 9780759111011
Ethnic Community Builders: Mexican-Americans in Search of Justice and Power is an oral history of Mexican-American activism in San José, California, over the last half century. The authors present interviews of 14 people of various stripes—teachers, politicians, radio personalities—who have been influential in the development of a major urban center with a significant ethnic population. These activists tell the stories of their lives and work with engaging openness and honesty, allowing readers to witness their successes and failures. This vivid ethnography of a Mexican-American community serves as a model for activism wherever ethnic groups seek change and justice.
By documenting the oral accounts of experiences of Mexican-Americans across the American West, Ethnic Community Builders provides an original perspective of the struggles, successes, and challenges of Hispanics in urban centers. Too often, written accounts can obscure the character of important people and events. Ethnic Community Builders goes straight to the source and harmoniously captures the voices of these diverse groups of people tied together with a common bond—their unique ethnicity.