Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice

Lopez focuses on two related events in 1960s California politics that prompted the brown-power movement that fuels contemporary Latino consciousness. When Mexican American high-school students in East Los Angeles launched a protest against the horrid conditions in their schools, school officials and local politicians sought to punish a few students to discourage spreading discord. About the same time, a group of Mexican protestors were charged with conspiracy involving fires set during a speech by then governor Ronald Reagan at a Los Angeles hotel. Lopez argues that the conspiracy charge, the backlash against the Mexican students, and subsequent trials challenging the status quo of California race relations also challenged the until-then popular notion among Mexicans that they were white and sparked the brown-race consciousness. Lopez explores the intersection of the law and racial politics that points out the glaring racism extant in practices of the time. This is a penetrating look at racial politics and evolving race consciousness among Latinos. (Booklist)