The Devil in Silicon Valley: Northern California, Race, and Mexican Americans

by Stephen J. Pitti

This sweeping history explores the growing Latino presence in the United States over the past two hundred years. It also debunks common myths about Silicon Valley, one of the world's most influential but least-understood places. Far more than any label of the moment, the devil of racism has long been Silicon Valley's defining force, and Stephen Pitti argues that ethnic Mexicans--rather than computer programmers--should take center stage in any contemporary discussion of the "new West."


Pitti weaves together the experiences of disparate residents--early Spanish-Mexican settlers, Gold Rush miners, farmworkers transplanted from Texas, Chicano movement activists, and late-twentieth-century musicians--to offer a broad reevaluation of the American West. Based on dozens of oral histories as well as unprecedented archival research, The Devil in Silicon Valley shows how San José, Santa Clara, and other northern California locales played a critical role in the ongoing development of Latino politics.


This is a transnational history. In addition to considering the past efforts of immigrant and U.S.-born miners, fruit cannery workers, and janitors at high-tech firms--many of whom retained strong ties to Mexico--Pitti describes the work of such well-known Valley residents as César Chavez. He also chronicles the violent opposition ethnic Mexicans have faced in Santa Clara Valley. In the process, he reinterprets not only California history but the Latino political tradition and the story of American labor.


This book follows California race relations from the Franciscan missions to the Gold Rush, from the New Almaden mine standoff to the Apple janitorial strike. As the first sustained account of Northern California's Mexican American history, it challenges conventional thinking and tells a fascinating story. Bringing the past to bear on the present, The Devil in Silicon Valley is counter-history at its best.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "Devil" in the title is racism and this is the story of the constant racism faced by Mexican Americans in the Santa Clara Valley (now better known as Silicon Valley) dating at least from the arrival of Yankees in the mid-19th Century, noting that the Spanish and Mexican rulers were themselves not so kind to the indigenous population. It's a story of struggle and minimal inclusion that intensifies in the mid-20th Century as the Mexican-American population of San Jose settles more permanently in the city (rather than following the crops as migrant workers). Several iterations of unions of cannery workers and others follow and fail and eventually the canneries are gone, too. Through all this efforts are made to organize and reform police-community relations, segregated schools, neighborhoods without adequate sewers, paved roads or streetlights and more. The book is stronger on the 19th and early-to-mid-20th Centuries than on what occurred after the 1960s. Although "Silicon Valley" is in the title there's less on the Valley from the time that title became common and not really much about how little Silicon Valley has done for the Latino population. Also not much about Cesar Chavez, although Pitti has written another book about him. It would have been interesting to read what Pitti has to say about Ron Gonzales, the "high tech Mex" (former HP employee) who was mayor from 1999-2006. Two stars ("it was ok") because as interesting as this topic is, the writing is dense and this is not an easy read. Maybe a little TMI.

[sdw · Rating 4 out of 5]

What image do you have when you hear the phase “Silicon Valley”? This book will reshape the way you consider this area of California, and deepen your understanding of the racial and class dynamics that shape not only California, but the urgent immigration (immigrant rights!) issues facing us today.

This book examines the history of Mexican Americans in Silicon Valley. The research was begun before the dot-com bust. The story told here reshapes the dominant image of today’s high-tech valley. It examines not only the racial and class dynamics existing in the low-wage production of technologies, but also examines the history of these racial and class dynamics, from Spanish colonialism through U.S. imperialism.

The Devil in Silicon Valley not only recasts our understanding of Northern California and its apparent technological paradise, but also provides a history of political struggles and specific organizations in the area. Its discussions help contextualize and frame struggles for immigrant rights today. The book pays attentions to relations between Mexican-Americans and newly arrived immigrant families throughout. The work carefully avoids presenting the community as political united or culturally stagnant. The presentation of debates and divisions demonstrates the vibrancy of the communities’ struggles.

This book is well-researched and dense with details.

[Matt Alonso · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sobering history of a population that gets little credit for the development of the most wealthy region in history.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I grew up as a very white looking Latina with Californio ancestry living on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley I found this book very interesting. It explained. A lot of what happened with Indians, Californios and people of Mexican heritage from the Spanish era, through the gold rush years, white settlement and to the boosting of the valley as Silicon Valley. This book revealed the hidden and open racism towards people of Mexican heritage over many generations in Santa Clara Valley white culture and the poverty that Latinos still experience in the area. I found it also interesting that it helped me identify some more hidden racism that influenced my life experiences. I learned that even though I was a good student in high school, the fact that I was steered away from college and offered a low wage job at a local employer that needed Hispanic workers for affirmative action purposes was part of systematic racist school tracking.

I would have rated this book higher if the author hadn't lumped the 60s through the early 21st century into one sort of hurried chapter. My observations are that there was a lot going on in these years that didn't get the detailed coverage that was merited.

I did observe one sign of systematic racism when looking at secretarial want ads in the 90s. I noticed that the positions that required bilingual English/Spanish skills paid far less than those where those skills were not required. I see that as a clear sign of racism in the market and it certainly did not encourage me to brush up on my Spanish language skills.

[Roger Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read something so personal since I'm Mexican-American and live in Silicon Valley. There were times where I felt the need to stop and put the book aside.

Pitti is one of the few authors to research and expose a century's old tabou with respect to the Mexican American community. From the 19th century to the present, consistent categorization and lack of opportunities for all Mexican Americans in Silicon Valley has been due to the question of race ('devil'). Many immigrants have come to Silicon Valley to profit and reap the benefits of the sprawling IT industry. However, no other group has been more affected and marginalized in Silicon Valley than people of Mexican descent. This book tells us why Mexican Americans are still at the bottom of the social and economic ladder.

Every Mexican American or person of Mexican origin should read this book to better understand the current situation in Silicon Valley.

[Miriam]

This is actually kind of hard for me to read. I keep picking it up and putting it down. I think it hits a little too close to home, since I grew up in San Jose, on the East Side, which Pitti writes a lot about.