As far as my research goes, I completely forgot that I had checked out several books from our library at TAMUCC that specifically dealt with Mexican American in Houston. The titles of the books are; Ethnicity in the Sunbelt: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston, Brown, Not White: School integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston, and Chicanas and Chicano in School (which does not specifically focus on Houston but more of an overall perspective).
Ethnicity in the Sunbelt: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston
The book is divided into time periods from 1528 to the 1980s. I think the second section of the book will be most beneficial to our research because it focuses from 1930 to 1960 and the section is called “The Mexican American Generation”. It explains the need for change in the city during that period and a post-war community. There are also several tables and graphs included in the text that further explain race populations in Houston, the different social classes represented at the time, and percentages of white people with Spanish surnames.
Brown, Not White: School integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston
The entire book will benefit the research because it explains the struggles of Mexican-orgin people and how they fought for rights in public schools. It also discusses how they established identities through all the struggles and the various movements within the city that allowed Mexican-Americans the rights that they have today. Included in the text are illustrations and pictures of rallys and picketers which display and strong sense of cultural pride.
Chicanas and Chicano in School
With the two other books focusing on Mexican-American movements in Houston, this particular book can be used as a reference or comparison to other parts of the country and how they handled similar situations. It discusses children in Los Angeles, their school lessons and insights of progress.
