The 1950’s through 1970’s fostered action towards Chicano empowerment in response to over a century of strife. Political and social activism to correct injustices and defeat discrimination were a natural outgrowth of that awareness and a major feature of the movement. While incidents before had already demonstrated the need for social amelioration, the post-war era was important because it was the first time Chicanos really began to be politically self-actualized. Indeed, since the 1960s, when legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought more Americans into the political mainstream, the Hispanic vote proved to be influential in local, state, and national elections. In presidential elections, candidates have been paying more attention to Hispanics since they have striking numbers in four key states:
It appears as if the specter of racial discrimination has revealed itself in socioeconomic difference—this time to interfere with the Chicano political identity. Internal factors explaining low political participation include socioeconomic status. It is no secret that low levels of age, education, and income negatively affect voter registration and turnout. Unfortunately, Chicanos have historically found themselves in the lowest levels of these categories. In 1980 the median age of Chicanos was 22.1 years; for the whole population it was 31 years. Only about fifty percent of Chicanos complete high school and median family income is only two-thirds of the national average[1]. In 2007, it would appear that conditions have improved, but Latinos and Chicanos still find themselves in the same station. According the Census Bureau, the median income for “Hispanic” households was $38,679 in 2007, which was 70 percent of the median for non-Hispanic White households, the “Hispanic” population in 2007 had a median age of 27.6, and there has been a slight increase in high school graduation rates.[2] Considering its growth in size over the past years, it’s problematic to see this group still low across the board. Education is particularly important in galvanizing political participation, especially because the largest proportion of Chicanos are just entering the voting age. However, socioeconomic demarcations resulting from demographic concentration in the Southwest and in urban barrios have left deep cleavages in educational quality. For many high schools in the Southwest, the facilities are not far improved from what they had been in the 1960s. The low standards of education create lower expectations for Chicano students, resulting in a dangerous cycle. Without any encouragement for Chicano youth to complete high school education, it is very likely the position of Chicano students will stagnate.
The Mexican-American population has grown considerably over the past century from about two million in 1930 to nearly six million in 1970 and 45.5 million in 2007.[3] From this increase of numbers should naturally follow an increase of political representation, especially since the next generation of Chicano immigrants is nearing the age to vote. For this reason, it is especially important to address the problem of political non-representation by remembering historically structured obstacles, including diversity among Latino/Hispanic groups all over the
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