Books & Films About the Chicano Movement And Its Contributions to American History

Today's climate of protest, unrest, and uncertainty has people wanting to learn more about and discuss the oppression of marginalized groups and race relations in America. This is a great opportunity to extend the conversation and celebrate the many contributions and influences of El Movimiento. El Movimiento, also known as the Chicano Movement, started with the Pachucos counterculture, influenced by the Black Power Movement and the Zoot Suit Riots in the 1940s. The continuing fight of resistance through art, politics, literature, and fashion to dismantle structural racism was led by activists like José de la Luz Sáenz, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and more. 

We've put together resources from the Library—books, films and documentaries— that celebrate Mexican American heritage and discuss the Chicano Movement and its unique contributions to American history. 

Books

Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement by F. Arturo Rosales

This book traces the history of the struggle for Chicano Civil Rights from the 1800s to the 1970s. The author looks at the individuals and cultural forces that shaped the history of the movement, and focuses on the period from 1965 to 1975. Issues addressed include property rights, immigrant Mexican nationalism in the US, the impact of the children of immigrants born as US citizens, and the search for acceptance amidst a hostile American public. 

From Coveralls to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front by Elizabeth R. Escobedo

During World War II, unprecedented employment avenues opened up for women and minorities in U.S. defense industries at the same time that massive population shifts and the war challenged Americans to rethink notions of race. At this extraordinary historical moment, Mexican American women found new means to exercise control over their lives in the home, workplace, and nation. In From Coveralls to Zoot Suits, Elizabeth R. Escobedo explores how, as war workers and volunteers, dance hostesses and zoot suiters, respectable young ladies and rebellious daughters, these young women used wartime conditions to serve the United States in its time of need and to pursue their own desires.

No Mexicans, Women, or Dogs Allowed: The Rise of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement by Cynthia Orozco

The first fully comprehensive study of the origins of the League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC) and its precursors, incorporating race, class, gender, and citizenship to create bold new understandings of a pivotal period of activism.

A Chicano Manual on How to Handle Gringos: Hispanic Civil Rights by José Angel Gutiérrez

In very plain, down-to-earth language and examples, Gutiérrez takes pains to make his broad knowledge and experience available to everyone, but especially to those who want to be activists for themselves and their communities. For him the empowerment of a minority or working-class person can transfer into greater empowerment of the whole community.
 

Chicano by Richard Vasquez

A bestseller when it was published in 1970 at the height of the Mexican-American civil rights movement, Chicano unfolds the fates and fortunes of the Sandoval family, who flee the chaos and poverty of the Mexican Revolution and begin life anew in the United States. Patriarch Hector Sandoval works the fields and struggles to provide for his family even as he faces discrimination and injustice. Of his children, only Pete Sandoval is able to create a brighter existence, at least for a time. But when Pete's daughter Mariana falls in love with David, an Anglo student, it sets in motion a clash of cultures. David refuses to marry Mariana, fearing the reaction of his family and friends. Mariana, pregnant with David's child, is trapped between two worlds and shunned by both because of the man she loves. 
 

Here Lies Lalo: The Collected Poems of Abelardo Delgado

Known as the "poet laureate de Aztlán" and called "the grandfather of Chicano literature" in his 2004 obituary in the New York Times, Delgado used his words to fight for justice and equal opportunity for people of Mexican descent living in the United States.

Zoot Suit and Other Plays by Luis Valdez

This critically acclaimed play by Luis Valdez, the first by a Mexican American to be produced on Broadway, cracks open the depiction of Chicanos on stage, challenging viewers to revisit a troubled moment in our nation's history. From the moment the myth-infused character El Pachuco burst onto the stage, cutting his way through the drop curtain with a switchblade, Luis Valdez spurred a revolution in Chicano theater.

Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War by Duncan Tonatiuh

Describes the life and accomplishments of José de la Luz Sáenz, who helped create the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Latino civil rights organization.

Films & Documentaries

Chicano Rock!

A look at the generations of young Mexican-Americans who express their heritage through music. Features rare film, photos, and music from artists such as Ritchie Valens, Cannibal and the Headhunters, El Chicano, Los Lobos, and more.
 

A Class Apart: A Mexican American Civil Rights Story (2009)

In the small town of Edna, Texas, in 1951, field hand Pete Hernández killed a tenant farmer after exchanging words in a cantina. From this murder emerged a landmark civil rights case that would change the lives and legal standing of tens of millions of Americans. Tells the story of an underdog band of Mexican American lawyers who took their case all the way to the Supreme Court, where they challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans. Lawyers forged a daring legal strategy, arguing that Mexican Americans were "a class apart" from a legal system that recognized only blacks and whites.
 

Dolores (2018)

Dolores Huerta is among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Dolores tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century.

Cesar Chavez (2014)

Tells the story of civil rights leader and labor organizer, Cesar Chavez, who worked for the rights of immigrants and farm workers.

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.