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Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas, Socialists, Wobblies, and Communists in the Mexican American Working Class
Radicals in the Barrio uncovers a long and rich history of political radicalism within the Mexican and Chicano working class in the United States. Chacón clearly and sympathetically documents the ways that migratory workers carried with them radical political ideologies, new organizational models, and shared class experience, as they crossed the border into southwestern barrios during the first three decades of the twentieth-century. Justin Akers Chacón previous work includes No One is Fighting Racism and State Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border (with Mike Davis).
500 pages, Paperback
Published June 26, 2018
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About the author
Justin Akers Chacón
7 books12 followersJustin Akers Chacón is a professor of U.S. History and Chicano Studies in San Diego, California.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 12, 2025
A truly epic work covering a staggering range of stories of organizing along the borderlands of the Southwestern United States. Truly surreal to read today in 2025 and seeing so many of the *exact same* racist narrative tropes, legal devices, and repressive programs used in both the response to the Mexican Revolution and then in the combined anti-Mexican and anti-radical hysteria of 1950s McCarthyism.
Yet at the same time, the historical grounding provided by these tales of struggle is incredibly helpful. To see that we are not alone in our struggle against white supremacist fascism, that contrary, workers have struggled against this for over a century. While in some ways you could take that as demoralizing, it demonstrates that despite the odds, despite everything weighted against us, the workers movement and the movement of oppressed people can never be snuffed out.
There are so many incredible lessons to draw from in this text, immediately actionable tactics to resist racist oppression and fight for equality in the shop floor that we can bring to our struggles today.
Some small points taken off because from a chronological perspective this book is a bit of a nightmare, as each narrative thread is followed individually, but that personal quibble aside, I highly highly recommend this book. Extremely relevant to this current moment for anyone looking to fight back.
Yet at the same time, the historical grounding provided by these tales of struggle is incredibly helpful. To see that we are not alone in our struggle against white supremacist fascism, that contrary, workers have struggled against this for over a century. While in some ways you could take that as demoralizing, it demonstrates that despite the odds, despite everything weighted against us, the workers movement and the movement of oppressed people can never be snuffed out.
There are so many incredible lessons to draw from in this text, immediately actionable tactics to resist racist oppression and fight for equality in the shop floor that we can bring to our struggles today.
Some small points taken off because from a chronological perspective this book is a bit of a nightmare, as each narrative thread is followed individually, but that personal quibble aside, I highly highly recommend this book. Extremely relevant to this current moment for anyone looking to fight back.
May 30, 2020
Wow.
I love this book. I want a copy for my home library some day. Justin Akers Chacón has done a remarkably detailed, engaging, and fascinating job with this text. He covers essentially the first half of the 20th century regarding the organizing efforts and progress of the Mexican American working class throughout the United States and touching on several times, in Mexico itself. The historical writing is both interesting and powerfully-written, making it a valuable text for anyone interested in the subject and time period. Chacón devotes multiple chapters to the efforts of radical women as well as men, determined to remember them with as much detail as possible, including my favorite (and hometown heroine) Emma Tenayuca, while introducing me to a few new favorite's - Josefina Fierro, Luisa Moreno, and Lucy Gonzalez Parsons.
This tome seems almost exhaustive, and would certainly make a thorough addition to any course, while is well-written enough to make an enjoyable personal (albeit long) read. Highly recommend.
I love this book. I want a copy for my home library some day. Justin Akers Chacón has done a remarkably detailed, engaging, and fascinating job with this text. He covers essentially the first half of the 20th century regarding the organizing efforts and progress of the Mexican American working class throughout the United States and touching on several times, in Mexico itself. The historical writing is both interesting and powerfully-written, making it a valuable text for anyone interested in the subject and time period. Chacón devotes multiple chapters to the efforts of radical women as well as men, determined to remember them with as much detail as possible, including my favorite (and hometown heroine) Emma Tenayuca, while introducing me to a few new favorite's - Josefina Fierro, Luisa Moreno, and Lucy Gonzalez Parsons.
This tome seems almost exhaustive, and would certainly make a thorough addition to any course, while is well-written enough to make an enjoyable personal (albeit long) read. Highly recommend.
August 1, 2024
It's hard to describe how incredible this book was.
August 16, 2019
This book is an amazing education about labor issues in the Southwest. Yes, it is primarily about Mexican and Mexican Americans, but there's a wealth of information about all immigrants of the early 1900s and what they faced/endured at the hands of the wealthy capitalist class. This book should be required reading.
September 3, 2020
I highly recommend this book. A good slice of the colonialism and the fight against it in the US from Mexican-Americans.
May 26, 2022
-this book is about 600 pages long and has small print. its a beast
-contextualizes various local labor struggles in Mexico and the US in the history of the Left in both countries across the first half of the twentieth century. I learned a lot. Covers both the labor, land, and race politics of mutualistas, anarchism, magonismo, PLM, IWW, left and right Socialism, AFL, CIO, Knights of Labor, CP and various organizations, newspapers, organizers, strikes, and uprisings associated with these.
-contextualizes various local labor struggles in Mexico and the US in the history of the Left in both countries across the first half of the twentieth century. I learned a lot. Covers both the labor, land, and race politics of mutualistas, anarchism, magonismo, PLM, IWW, left and right Socialism, AFL, CIO, Knights of Labor, CP and various organizations, newspapers, organizers, strikes, and uprisings associated with these.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews