Victory is in the Struggle: The Scholar-Activism of Carlos Muñoz Jr.

“I Am Joaquin” by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez

“I Am Joaquin” is widely regarded as one of the more impactful narrative poems of the 1960s Chicano movement. As one of the more widely read works associated with the movement, the poem describes the struggles of assimilation and honoring Chicano heritage. The poem is often viewed as a significant cultural expression of what it means to be Chicano. As an incredibly influential voice in forming the philosophy of Chicanismo, Gonzalez’s literary works serve as a critical entry point into the complex landscape of Chicano activism in the 1960s. Gonzalez’s poem inspired Culture Counts writer Alberto Camacho’s spoken word piece (hear poem).

"The Politics of Protest and Chicano Liberation: A Case Study of Repression and Co-optation" (1974) by Carlos Muñoz Jr.

Published in the journal Aztlán in 1974, this study of the East LA blowouts served as one of the foundational texts “Victory is in the Struggle” exhibit. This article explores the dynamics of political protest within the Chicano movement, focusing on the strategies of repression and co-optation activists faced. The publication offers insights into how political power, social action, and ethnic solidarity have been instrumental and contentious in the Chicano liberation struggle. Muñoz’s writings can inspire discussion about the politics of mass protest and help students more deeply understand the tactics and strategies used by the movement. It also encourages a deeper analysis of schooling at large as a political institution of the state and a tool of ideological repression. This work can also be used to encourage conversation about the simultaneous repressive and liberatory capacity of schooling.

Youth, Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement (1989) by Carlos Muñoz Jr.

Originally published in 1989 by Verso Books, Professor Muñoz’s seminal text studies the origins and development of the 1960s Chicano civil rights movement. This book, which informed the organization of the “Victory is in the Struggle” exhibit, provides a detailed look into the role of Chicano student movements and their influence on the broader Chicano Movement. This book is widely regarded as the first full-length work to comprehensively cover the topic, and it fills an important gap in the history of political and social movements. Instructors and educators can use this work to encourage students to think critically about the political and intellectual context of the Chicano Movement which has long been ignored by mainstream academia.

Barrio Boy (1971) by Ernesto Galarza

Published in 1971 by the University of Notre Dame Press, the book captures Galarza’s challenges of assimilating while maintaining his cultural heritage. As Galarza’s autobiographical memoir and first publication, the book is a significant text in Chicano literature. It details his journey beginning with his early years in the small mountain town of Jalcocotán, his family's migration through Mexico due to the Mexican Revolution, and their eventual settlement in a barrio in Sacramento, California. The book explores themes of Mexican American identity, acculturation, and Galarza's own experiences with segregation and integration into American society. Students can explore the impact of Mexican-American activist-memoirists through reading works like Barrio Boy as well as Carlos Muñoz’s memoir, the title of which was inspired by Galarza’s work.

Ernesto Galarza Papers

Activist and professor Ernesto Galarza was a key figure in Chicano activism, serving as a labor organizer and helping to blaze the trail for the farmworkers movement. Galarza was an incredibly prolific writer, penning works such as Barrio Boy and Merchants of Labor: The Mexican Bracero Story. As one of Carlos Muñoz’s mentors, Ernesto Galarza’s contributions to Mexican-American political thought came out of his ongoing commitment to social change. Both Carlos Muñoz and Ernesto Galarza’s scholarly works are of immense importance to the world of scholar-activism because their scholarship was inextricably linked to their commitment to struggling for social change.

“The Calling” by Luis Rodríguez

Published in the book Poems Across the Pavement, “The Calling” centers on Rodríguez’s experiences with the carceral system as a Chicano¹. Luis Rodríguez is a poet and novelist whose writing is greatly informed by his activism in the Chicano movement and has contributed immensely to the world of Xicanx² literature. In the Culture Counts reading series, students read “The Calling” and were encouraged to contemplate the line, “It called me to war / to be a writer / to be a scientist / and marched with the soldiers / of change.” This line and Rodríguez’s insightful meditations on the nature of struggle and change inspired Sínaí Martínez’s spoken word piece (hear poem). 

¹According to the article “From Chicano to Xicanx: A brief history of a political and cultural identity” by Joseph Flores, the term “Xicano” is meant to “put forth a political identity that emphasizes decolonization, rejection of cultural convention, and activism over origin or language.” Additionally, the “x” in the original Nahuatl pronunciation of a Mexicano would have used a soft “sh” sound instead of the harder “ch“ sound most commonly used today. To learn more about identity terms within the Chicano movement, visit the “Core Definitions: Chicanx and Latinx Indigeneities” in New Directions in Chicanx and Latinx Studies. 

Black Awakening Capitalist America (1969) by Robert L. Allen

During the event, Jason Ferreira cited to Black Awakening in Capitalist America remains a seminal work for those studying the intersections of race, capitalism, and power in America. This book serves as a valuable accompaniment to Muñoz’s Victory is in the Struggle for the way it demonstrates the interconnections between personal histories and collective social movements. First published in 1969 by Doubleday, this book is a critical analysis of the Black Power and Black Nationalism movements of the 1960s, examining how these movements were co-opted by corporate and state interests, which Allen argues served to de-radicalize them. Drawing from the works of Frantz Fanon, Allen explores the parallels between colonial situations and the racial dynamics in the United States, offering insights into the systemic challenges faced by Black Americans during this era. The book is noted for its deep discussions around the economic and social conditions that influenced the development of Black activism after the Civil Rights Movement, and it is recognized for its contribution to the field of internal colonialism theory.

The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley by Tony Platt

During the event, some speakers emphasized the importance of understanding the power structures embedded within academic institutions. The Scandal of Cal was highlighted as a crucial example, demonstrating how a critical examination of UC Berkeley's history can deepen students' understanding of California's and the broader United States' historical contexts. In this book, Tony  Platt looks unflinchingly at the university’s desecration of graves and large-scale hoarding of Indigenous remains. He tracks its role in developing the racist pseudoscience of eugenics in the early twentieth century. He sheds light on the school’s complicity with the military-industrial complex and its incubation of unprecedented violence through the Manhattan Project. This book, above all, illuminates Cal’s culpability in some of the cruelest chapters of US history and sounds a clarion call for the university to undertake a thorough and earnest reckoning with its past.

San Jose State University Culture Counts Reading Series

The Culture Counts Reading Series is a transformative pedagogy project that convenes in San Jose. It is facilitated via a testimonial “story circle” pedagogy that encourages each participant to utilize poetry. Participants read as a launching pad to speak and write poems about their own life experiences, imaginaries, and social justice needs. Culture Counts asserts that the production of poetry and community and collaborative struggles for social justice operates on the assumption that, as a collective, communities possess a greater knowledge base and capacity for creative action than any individual can achieve alone. The reading series serves as a powerful example of transformative, community-based pedagogy and continues to serve as an outlet for aspiring artists of color.