PP&D 177 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Watts Riots, Robin Kelley, Eldridge Cleaver
1 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
4/12/18
Lecture 2: Black Power & Documentary
Previous lecture video review: Yo Soy Chicano
• Jesus Trevino - LA saw their rival of surging Chicano movement that worked towards
political and social change
o Political learning experience that exposed them to the farm worker struggle
(Cesar Chavez; president and Dolores Huerta; co-president), political organizing
and historical injustices (employment, quality education)
o Promoted new cultural understanding as Chicanos that emphasized their
connection to the mythical Southland, home of the Aztecs (northern part of
Mexico)
o Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848, ended Mexican American war
o Claiming land, cultural nationalism
o What is cultural nationalism? The opposite of cultural nationalism?
▪ Internationalism is the opposite.
o A critical event in history of the movement was talked about in the video was the
Denver Youth Conference in March 1969
▪ Boxer and Poet -- Corky Gonzales
▪ The gathering of Chicanos from California came as well and other US
Chicanos
▪ Laid out an agenda to define the Chicano movement and develop the
Aztlan spiritual, national plan
▪ Nationalist and cultural ideas
▪ Corky was nationalist -- “educate yourself and give back and go back to
the community”
▪ Struggles of Chicanas to be recognized as equals in movement
▪ Women and men have differential pay, not a surprise
▪ Women came together in impromptu workshop and condemned Chicano
sexism (machismo)
▪ One of the major divisions, was male vs. female within Chicano
movement - carried from 70s to 90s
▪ Women challenged the male centeredness
▪ Diverse women: some challenged the Chicano structure, some
challenged both male centeredness, Chicano structure, and society
structure
▪ Statements by these women was never read to the general assembly and
was revised to state that “Chicanas did not want to be liberalized, but only
to support the Chicanos fundraisers….”
▪ It has improved, but not greatly. ^
▪ Chicanas in greater LA were not deterred and did not stop their activism
▪ They worked with Blackwell (double-time activism, women have to do
double time)
▪ UCSB, UCSC, CSUF all colleges in South LA to redefine Chicanos
(commitment to community empowerment)
▪ Community empowerment? → Having a say in what goes on in your own
community. Women can express their opinions (not only impact them as
Chicanas but is applied to everyone!) empowerment to change the
structures of society.
▪ Cultural renaissance - mobilized Chicanos
▪ Chicano California had their own individual problems, Tejanos different
too. Even differences between Chicanas and Chicanos.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ Was not successful.
Black Awakening in Capitalist America: The Social Context of Black Power
Why is Blacks movement assigned in a Chicano course?
• Similar experiences in terms of education, housing, employment
• Inspired each other to come together (3rd world liberation movement) = all oppressed
people would have to unite to take control and challenge the structures of inequality
(never occurred)
• Civil Rights Bill not enforced, proved to be ineffective, slow and sporadic
• Black leaders realized it was meaningless without enforcement
• Mississippi - Freedom Democratic Party confirmed the need for enforcement
• SNCC - focused on voter registration, not anti-capitalist...believed thru voter registration
= changes could happen.
• MLK → anti-imperialist, anti-war, anti-capitalist
o Organizing whites, blacks and brown people
o Problem within the system. Not race.
o Mainstream civil rights movement, this pissed off people in the system.
o Divisions can be healthy, but what is not healthy is the misinformation about
certain people
o Even anti-globalization movement had differences about the causes of corporate
greed and inequality
• Civil Rights movement failed not just because of many setbacks, but only helped the
middle class.
• Black capitalism!
• Watts Riots - August 1965
o Beginning of slowly moving away from the golden age of capitalism
o Post war capitalist system that created good amount of jobs, opportunities for
many people...but for most POC (people of color) it did not
o Postindustrial economy, the assembly line
o The loss of factory jobs in the 1970s, massive firings and layoffs
• Voting Rights Act 1965 -- Blacks believe their rights have been infringed
o Very bureaucratic
o MLK is fundamentally misunderstood
o Black member of the National Rifle Association's (Robin Williams)
o he was chairman of NCAA
o Wanted to carry arms to protect themselves.
o Ironic about this current time (instead gun control debate)
o Most progressive blacks are critical of NRA
The Black Power Mixtape (1967-75)
• Abideyon Oyewole:
o Blacks have devoted their life to America
• 1967:
• Stokely Carmichael:
o Explained about MLK’s passive boycott about the bus system
o Dr. King’s policy was that nonviolence would achieve for black people
o MLK major assumption -- if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and
stop
o In order to your opponent to stop, your opponent must have conscience (US
doesn't)
• Talib Kweli
o Nonviolence no longer an option from Carmichael
• Stockholm -- Carmichael 1967:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Internationalism is the opposite: a critical event in history of the movement was talked about in the video was the. Denver youth conference in march 1969: boxer and poet -- corky gonzales, the gathering of chicanos from california came as well and other us. Chicanos: laid out an agenda to define the chicano movement and develop the. Having a say in what goes on in your own community. Women can express their opinions (not only impact them as. Chicanas but is applied to everyone!) empowerment to change the structures of society: cultural renaissance - mobilized chicanos, chicano california had their own individual problems, tejanos different too. Even differences between chicanas and chicanos: was not successful. Black awakening in capitalist america: the social context of black power. Why is blacks movement assigned in a chicano course: similar experiences in terms of education, housing, employment.
