On the West Coast, Spanish-speaking (largely Mestizo) communities
were well established when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in
1848, formally trans-ferring much of the West and Southwest territory
from Mexico to the U.S. The treaty had many provisions that were meant
to protect Mexicans’ rights, most of which were broken. Many historians
see the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as the beginning of systematic racism
and discrimination toward Mexicans and Spanish speakers more generally.
The many bicultural and Spanish dominant communities along the border
can document a long history of discrimination in every aspect of daily life.
The Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s was an organized, large-
scale effort to address such inequalities (Figure 14.4).
Figure 14.4 Texas restaurant sign, 1949
Source: Photo by R. Lee, 1949. Reprinted by permission of The Dolph Briscoe Center for
American History
Currently the term Chicano is generally understood to be reserved for
those of Mexican origin who were born and raised in the U.S., but who do