Raza Si, Guerra No: Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Viet Nam War Era

by Lorena Oropeza

This incisive and elegantly written examination of Chicano antiwar mobilization demonstrates how the pivotal experience of activism during the Viet Nam War era played itself out among Mexican Americans. ¡Raza Sí! ¡Guerra No! presents an engaging portrait of Chicano protest and patriotism. On a deeper level, the book considers larger themes of American nationalism and citizenship and the role of minorities in the military service, themes that remain pertinent today. Lorena Oropeza's exploration of the evolution, political trajectory, and eventual implosion of the Chicano campaign against the war in Viet Nam encompasses a fascinating meditation on Mexican Americans' political and cultural orientations, loyalties, and sense of status and place in American society.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

296 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2005

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

The anti-war movement in the 1960s as a result of the United States involvement in Vietnam significantly impacted Mexican Americans who were overwhelmingly represented in the U.S. enlistment and casualties. The social consciousness of the period for Mexican American youth was fostered through the political-nationalist Chicana/o identity through protest against the war and historical discrimination of Mexicans and Latinos. The clash between the Chicano movement and the police escalated in August 1970 in the Los Angeles Police Department’s response to a march of 20-30,000 Chicanos of multiple generations and different classes on Whittier Boulevard, where journalist Ruben Salazar was killed by the LAPD. Contributing to the federal government’s counterintelligence towards the movement was the FBI spying on Caesar Chavez’s labor organization. Author Lorena Oropeza successfully brings attention to the pivotal efforts of the Adelitas de Aztlán to reflect on gender discord and feminine independence in the midst of Chicano autonomy.

At the forefront of the Chicano movement in 1966 was an article published in The Nation, which Oropreza employs as an example of the “politics of supplication,” highlighting that the U.S. press, general public and political theorists in government did not anticipate Caesar Chavez labor strikes and the Chicano movement, as well as established notions within the American G.I. Forum and LULAC. This sociological study in 1966 was funded by Ford Foundation, and Oropreza uses a 1966 interview with former LULAC president Albert Armendariz to show that the conservative Latinos were either unaware or ignorant of the rising Chicano philosophy and pleaded towards assimilation and by promising to Lyndon B. Johnson to not strike and submit to conformity. Armendariz reaffirmed LULAC’s fight against communism and Russian aggression, refashioned as a historical narrative of Mexicans fighting off Russian colonialism in California dating back to the nineteenth century.

Mexican American involvement in the U.S. war effort for World War II and the Korean War was considered a source of patriotic pride and a pathway towards assimilation and social mobility. A core tenet of the Chicano protests in the 1960s was the solidarity with the Vietnamese people, extended by U.S. foreign policy in imperialism that brought Aztlan under U.S. control in 1848. Oropeza highlights the generational shift from indigenous self-recognition in the new youth groups in contrast to the established representation of LULAC policy makers in Johnson’s administration. A compelling source of Oropeza’s thesis arrives naturally from her research through La Opinion, Carta Editorial, El Gallo, El Macriado, El Grito del Norte, as well as faithful analysis. The work of Lea Ybarra, Francisca Flores, Elizabeth Martinez contributes to Oropeza’s argument showcasing Chicana folk feminism.


The publishing of ¡Raza Sí! ¡Guerra No! in 2005 brings parallels to the anti-war arguments under the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which also increased with Mexican American enlistment in the U.S. military, supplemented with promises to extend citizenship to legal immigrants. While political representation for Mexican Americans and Latinos has gradually increased since 1971, Mexican policy makers were targeted by the Republican Party with new pronouncements of white nationalism in 2016. The newly-created Department of Homeland Security along with the invasion of Afghanistan brought with a new branch in I.C.E, who continue to deport Mexican American military veterans and hold approximately 20,000 migrants in border detention. Oropeza’s writing shows that the Chicano extension in Chican(x) continuation and revitalization can unite Mexican Americans and help redefine the problems from patriarchal structure that contributed to the gradual phasing out of the movement in 1971 amongst original Chicano leaders.

[Julian Villa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over the course of 1+ year, and I am evermore excited by the exemplary work of this movement history by Lorena Oropeza! It is thoroughly informative, impressive, and invigorating. Full review soon.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and informative. Straight forward simple writing which keeps the reader’s attention throughout.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives interesting look at the different view points of the Chicano Movement within the culture. Also, it discusses the Viet Nam war and its relation to Chicano activism. I thought it was a nice touch to devote a full chapter to the Laguna park protest and the events leading up to it. My only complaint was the littering of poorly written sentences. It made for a frustrating read that had me on decoding duty every few sub-chapters.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has the appearance of an academic volume, but it makes excellent use of personal stories to paint a pretty good picture of the complex relationship of war, citizenship, and racism for Chicanos in the 20th century. Maybe if you're not Chicana it doesn't have the same effect, but I see different parts of my family and community in this and so far I find it riveting and informative.

[Brandon Milton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume provides a well-thought out and well presented overview of the effects of the Vietnam war on the formation and sustaining of the Chican@ movement. Despite a complex subject, Oropeza uses clear and precise language that makes reading both informative and enjoyable.

[Melody Villagomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lady is a great professor and her book is outstanding. If you ever take a chicano class and need references, i have one. lol