Required Assignment #2 due 12/3: You have been divided into five groups. Each of the five groups will watch an assigned program. Follow the directions below:
- On your own, each member in Groups 1-5 will watch one of four parts of the documentary Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement or the assigned video, The Zoot Suit Riiots. Each group member must watch their assigned part of the video prior to coming to class.
- On your own and before coming to class, each person must answer the following questions related to their assigned video. These typewritten answers to the questions must be turned in at the end of class and are worth a possible 20 points.
- Groups 1 and 6 questions for Part 1: Quest for a Homeland
- What was/is this "quest for a homeland" and how is it relevant to the beginning of the Chicano movement?
- Describe Tijerina's fight to convince the federal government to honor the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). How and why did it help galvanize Mexicans and Mexican Americans across the Southwest?
- How did Rodolfo (Corky) Gonzales and his Crusade for Justice reach out to Chicano youth? Why do you think it was so successful?
- What are the 2-4 most important points made in this part of your video - points that everyone should understand about the Chicano quest for a homeland?
- Groups 2 and 7 questions for Part 2: The Struggle in the Fields
- What was the "Struggle in the Fields" and how did it contribute to the evolution of the Chicano movement?
- How and why were the leadership and strategies used by Cesar Chavez's successful in mobilizing farm workers in the Central Valley?
- What role did nonviolence and faith and prayer play in achieving Chavez's goal? Do you think such strategies would be useful today for activism in the Mexican-American community?
- What are the 2-4 most important points made in this part of your video - points that everyone should understand about the struggle in the fields?
- Groups 3 and 8 questions for Part 3: Taking Back the Schools
- What was the movement to "Take back the schools" and how did it contribute to the evolution of the Chicano movement?
- What were the primary reasons for the student walkouts?
- Were the walkouts successful in changing the schools in Los Angeles? Do these same conditions still exist in the schools? If so, why and if not, why not?
- What are the 2-4 most important points made in this part of your video - points that everyone should understand about the movement to take back the schools in Los Angeles?
- Groups 4 and 9 questions for Part 4: Fighing for Political Power
- What was the "Fight for Political Power" highlighted in part of the video? How did it contribute to the evolution of the Chicano movement?
- What inequities existed in voting rights in Texas and how did these inequities contribute to the birth of the La Raza Unida Party.
- What does this video describe as the continuing and overarching significance of the Chicano Movement and its legacy?
- What are the 2-4 most important points made in this part of your video - points that everyone should understand about the fight for political power?
- Groups 5 and 10 questions for The Zoot Suit Riots.
- Who were the Zoot Suiters?
- What were the primary causes of the Zoot Suit Riots that occurred in 1943 in Los Angeles?
- What were the consequences of the Zoot Suit trial and the riots?
- What are the 2-4 most important points made in this part of your video - points that everyone should understand about the Zoot Suit Riots?
3. When you come to class, Groups 1 and 6 will meet, Groups 2 and 7 will meet, Groups 3 and 8 will meet, Groups 4 and 9 will meet and Groups 5 and 10 will meet. Each large group will take 15 minutes to determine the 3 most important things you learned from the video you watched. Each person must write these down and understand these well enough to teach it to classmates in a smaller group.
4. When you are done in these groups, reconfigure your groups. Now, you must make 8 groups of 5 persons each. Each of the five persons will have seen one of the required videos so that each groups has a person who has seen Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Chicano and The Zoot Suit Riots. Each person will take 5 minutes to teach their chapter to their classmates using the three most important points discussed in the previous group.
5. Once everyone has discussed their video, take another 10 minutes to decide what 3-5 themes all the videos had in common in regard to the historical Chicano movement and the Zoot Suit Riots. Elect a spokesperson to be ready to contribute your group's findings to the entire class.
When class is over today, be sure to turn in your required written assignment.