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Latino-Native American Cultural Center newspaper clippings, 1970-2001

Chicano Conf '74

Chicano struggle for civil rights dates back to U.S. Bill of Rights

"It is a myth that the Chicanos have only begun to fight for civil rights in the 1960s and 70s."
that was the message of George Garcia, chairman of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, as he addressed a workshop on Chicano civil rights as part of the Saturday activities during the Chicano Conference '74.
He said the legal problems of equality in the United States dates back to the passage of the Bill of Rights, which originally applied only to white males.
Organized action to gain civil rights for Chicanos began early in the 20th century, according to Garcia.
He contends that much of the work of the Chicano civil rights movement has gone unrecognized until recently.
As an example, he claimed that much of the groundwork for the famous Brown vs. Board of Education case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine, was accomplished by Chicano groups.
[[bold]]Despite the Chicano efforts, Garcia said, the law has largely ignored Chicanos. He said most of the landmark court decisions and legislation has been aimed at black-white relations.[[end bold]]
A Texas court case in the 1890s ruled that Chicanos were neither black nor white, making them ineligible to receive many of the benefits of post-Civil War civil rights acts, he said.
According to Garcia, the primary civil rights problem of Chicanos now is enforcement of the present civil rights law.
There is presently an 800-case backlog of civil rights complaints before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, and nationally there are 70,000 cases waiting for action, he said.
[[bold]]During the question-discussion period of the workshop, a question was raised concerning the effects of a bill presently before Congress that would fine employers for hiring persons who have entered the United States illegally.[[end bold]]
"The authors say the bill will protect the Chicano people from 'scab labor' flooding the job market. It's a white-liberal bill to protect the Chicano and screw his brother at the same time," said Arturo Ramirez, a University of Iowa law student who chaired the workshop.
He said that if the bill becomes law it would make employers unwilling to hire any Chicanos because it is impossible to tell an illegal entrant from a person who entered the country legally.

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Chicano Conf '74 Chicano struggle for civil rights dates back to U.S. Bill of Rights "It is a myth that the Chicanos have only begun to fight for civil rights in the 1960s and 70s." that was the message of George Garcia, chairman of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, as he addressed a workshop on Chicano civil rights as part of the Saturday activities during the Chicano Conference '74. He said the legal problems of equality in the United States dates back to the passage of the Bill of Rights, which originally applied only to white males. Organized action to gain civil rights for Chicanos began early in the 20th century, according to Garcia. He contends that much of the work of the Chicano civil rights movement has gone unrecognized until recently. As an example, he claimed that much of the groundwork for the famous Brown vs. Board of Education case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine, was accomplished by Chicano groups. [[bold]]Despite the Chicano efforts, Garcia said, the law has largely ignored Chicanos. He said most of the landmark court decisions and legislation has been aimed at black-white relations.[[end bold]] A Texas court case in the 1890s ruled that Chicanos were neither black nor white, making them ineligible to receive many of the benefits of post-Civil War civil rights acts, he said. According to Garcia, the primary civil rights problem of Chicanos now is enforcement of the present civil rights law. There is presently an 800-case backlog of civil rights complaints before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, and nationally there are 70,000 cases waiting for action, he said. [[bold]]During the question-discussion period of the workshop, a question was raised concerning the effects of a bill presently before Congress that would fine employers for hiring persons who have entered the United States illegally.[[end bold]] "The authors say the bill will protect the Chicano people from 'scab labor' flooding the job market. It's a white-liberal bill to protect the Chicano and screw his brother at the same time," said Arturo Ramirez, a University of Iowa law student who chaired the workshop. He said that if the bill becomes law it would make employers unwilling to hire any Chicanos because it is impossible to tell an illegal entrant from a person who entered the country legally.