To Be Chicano Was to Be an Activist

The Chicano movement of the 1960s and ’70s was the largest and most widespread Mexican American civil rights and empowerment movement up to that time. Los Angeles was a key location, and Raul Ruiz, while still a college student there, became a leader for a generation of Mexican Americans. Together, they directly challenged the American system to live up to its principles of equal rights for all.

“The Chicano movement began with no concept of membership. You weren’t a member of.