1920’s and the Depression Era

While the nation was experiencing the “roaring twenties” the Mexican American populations was experiencing a time of “we want your labor but we don’t want you to stay”.

Roaring Twenties

The period after World War I is often called the "Roaring '20s". Hollywood movies, magazines and other popular culture of the day make it seem like people in the 20’s did nothing but party.

But historians and other students of the past consider the 1920s the beginning of modern America -- a decade that helped set the tone for the rest of the century.

But even with modern history, the old evils of discrimination continued to survive.

Birth of A Nation

Birth of A Nation, 1915

Directed and produced by D.W. Griffith

Flapper Girls Speakeasies

All That Jazz!

The Roaring Twenties

The Land of Plenty

By 1929, the richest 1% of the population owned 40% of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 93% had experienced a 4% drop in per capita income (Acuna,2008:167).

By 1920’s, Los Angeles had surpassed San Antonio as the US city with the most Mexicans. The Spanish Speaking newspaper, LA Opinion was created in 1926.

From 1922 to 1932 the number of special Mexican school districts doubled from 20 to 40 in Texas. School authorities required Mexicans to attend their own schools, while not restricting white children to stay within their neighborhoods.

American Public Schools

American Public Schools

By 1928, in the entire state of Texas, only 250 Mexicans attended college. In San Antonio, only 250 attended high school. (Acuna,2008:)

Mexican-American Schools

By 1930, 90% of South Texas schools were segregated. The Mexican schools were obviously disregarded in comparison to White schools. One example, the school board spent $24.50 per Mexican student versus $35.96 per white (Acuna, 2008:191).

Los Angeles, CA

Many Mexicans were forced to move four miles east of the Civic Center to the Belvedere-Maravilla area in the unincorporated portion of the County.

In fact, Maravilla Park was almost 100% Mexican. Mexicans made up 10% of the total population of Los Angeles.

Economic Depression

America's "Great Depression" began with the dramatic crash of the stock market on "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929 when 16 million shares of stock were quickly sold by panicking investors who had lost faith in the American economy. At the height of the Depression in 1933, nearly 25% of the Nation's total work force, 12,830,000 people, were unemployed.

The Terrible Thirties

The Great Depression

After the October 1929, many Mexicans were forced out of their jobs in favor of unemployed Anglos. In the months that followed, approximately 85,000 Mexicans, victims of a poor economy and discrimination, left the US. State and local governments began campaigns to remove illegal aliens, hoping that this action would create more jobs for American citizens (Catalano, 1988:51).

“A Decade of Betrayal”

During the 1930’s estimates vary from 500,000 to 2 million Mexicans “repatriated” back to Mexico.

60% to 75% of these were children born in the US. It is also estimated that over 3 million Mexican descendants lived in the US during the Great Depression or “la crisis”. (Acuna,2008:168)

Mexican Americans in California

In California, the legislature passed the 1931 Alien Labor Law, which forbade contractors from using alien workers for highway construction, school and government office buildings, and other public projects (Acuna, 2008:168).

The California Senate proposed a bill to prohibit illegal aliens from engaging in business or seeking employment, and making it a misdemeanor to have such an alien as a partner (Acuna,2008:173).

The US Border Patrol had already been established in 1924.

US Border PatrolOn May 28, 1924, Congress passed the Labor Appropriation Act of 1924, officially establishing the U.S. Border Patrol for the purpose of securing the borders between inspection stations. In 1925 its duties were expanded to patrol the seacoast.

Mexican Repatriation The “nativist” attitudes and

repatriation of the 1930’s sent back 30% of the Mexican community back to Mexico. Even prisoners were given their freedom if they were returned to their country of origin.

Public raids and door-to-door searches were not uncommon. In L.A., on February 26, 1931, 400 people were detained in a period of an hour around the Central Plaza. Most of those detained were Mexicans (Acuna,2008:174).

Los Angeles population tripled between 1920 and 1930. More Mexicans were becoming anglosized. By 1930, 45% of Mexican males worked in agriculture, 24% in manufacturing, 13% in transportation, and only 1% in the professions.

The 1930 census showed that 18.6% of Mexicans in L.A. owned homes but still faced much discrimination.

By 1930, Mexicans were already the largest minority in the County followed by African Americans and Japanese.

LULAC, Corpus Christi, TX. 1929

In Texas, a famous and important organization was formed to protect the rights of Mexicans. Without a doubt, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was the premier Tejano organization of this period.

Congress of Industrial Organizations

As Mexican workers became more politically conscious following each strike, their numbers grew. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was formed in 1937. The CIO was more receptive to organizing farm workers and including people of color. It even put pressure on other unions to organize Mexicans and African Americans.

EVEN WOMEN WERE BECOMING POLITICIZED AND BECAME UNION

ORGANIZERS. ONE WAS LUISA MORENO WHO WAS THE FIRST LATINA TO SERVE ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF A

PACKING UNION, UCAPAWA. LUISA MORENO RETIRED IN 1947 BUT

IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES STILL DEPORTED MORENO BECAUSE OF HER

ACTIVISIM.

Luisa Moreno

Mexican-American Highlight

On behalf of the Mexican immigrants she said, “These people are not aliens. They have contributed their endurance, sacrificed youth and labor to the Southwest. Indirectly, they have paid more taxes than all the stockholders of California’s industrialized agriculture, the sugar companies and the large cotton interests, that operate or have operated with the labor of Mexican workers (Acuna,2008:193).

Luisa Moreno

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