Fighting Their Own Battles : Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas

Between 1940 and 1975, Mexican Americans and African Americans in Texas fought a number of battles in court, at the ballot box, in schools, and on the streets to eliminate segregation and state-imposed racism. Although both groups engaged in civil rights struggles as victims of similar forms of racism and discrimination, they were rarely unified. In Fighting Their Own Battles, Brian Behnken explores the cultural dissimilarities, geographical distance, class tensions, and organizational differences that all worked to separate Mexican Americans and blacks. Behnken further demonstrates that prejudices on both sides undermined the potential for a united civil rights campaign. Coalition building and cooperative civil rights efforts foundered on the rocks of perceived difference, competition, distrust, and, oftentimes, outright racism. Behnken's in-depth study reveals the major issues of contention for the two groups, their different strategies to win rights, and significant thematic developments within the two civil rights struggles. By comparing the histories of these movements in one of the few states in the nation to witness two civil rights movements, Behnken bridges the fields of Mexican American and African American history, revealing the myriad causes that ultimately led these groups to "fight their own battles."

Between 1940 and 1975, African Americans and Mexican Americans in Texas fought a number of battles in court, at the ballot box, in schools, and on the streets to eliminate segregation and state-imposed racism. Although both groups engaged in civil rights struggles as victims of similar forms of racism and discrimination, they were rarely unified. In Fighting Their Own Battles, Brian Behnken explores the cultural dissimilarities, geographical distance, class tensions, and organizational differences that all worked to separate blacks and Mexican Americans.
Behnken further demonstrates that prejudices on both sides undermined the potential for a united civil rights campaign. Coalition building and cooperative civil rights efforts foundered on the rocks of perceived difference, competition, distrust, and, oftentimes, outright racism. Behnken's in-depth study reveals the major issues of contention for the two groups, their different strategies to win rights, and significant thematic developments within the two civil rights struggles. By comparing the histories of these movements in one of the few states in the nation to witness two civil rights movements, Behnken bridges the fields of African American and Mexican American history, revealing the myriad causes that ultimately led these groups to "fight their own battles."

Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Acronyms and Abbreviations......Page 18 Introduction......Page 22 1 Advancing the Cause of Democracy: The Origins of Protest in the Long Civil Rights Movement......Page 34 2 Sleeping on Another Man’s Wounds: The Battle for Integrated Schools in the 1950s......Page 60 3 Nothing but Victory Can Stop Us: Direct Action and Political Action in the Early 1960s......Page 93 4 Venceremos: The Evolution of Civil Rights in the Mid-1960s......Page 123 5 Am I My Brother’s Keeper?: Ecumenical Activism in the Lone Star State......Page 151 6 The Day of Nonviolence Is Past: The Era of Brown Power and Black Power in Texas......Page 175 7 Pawns, Puppets, and Scapegoats: School Desegregation in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s......Page 216 Conclusion......Page 245 Notes......Page 262 Bibliography......Page 326 A......Page 354 C......Page 356 D......Page 357 E......Page 358 G......Page 359 H......Page 360 K......Page 361 M......Page 362 P......Page 364 R......Page 365 S......Page 366 U......Page 367 Y......Page 368 Advancing the cause of democracy : the origins of protest in the long civil rights movement Sleeping on another man's wounds : the battle for integrated schools in the 1950s Nothing but victory can stop us : direct action and political action in the early 1960s Venceremos : the evolution of civil rights in the mid-1960s Am I my brother's keeper? : ecumenical activism in the Lone Star State The day of nonviolence is past : the era of Brown power and Black power in Texas Pawns, puppets, and ccapegoats : school desegregation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Behnken examines the history of both the African American and Mexican American civil rights struggles in Texas, exploring the racial prejudices, cultural dissimilarities, class tensions, organizational differences, and geographical distance that all worked to create two separate civil rights movements