Misplaced Pages

Part of a series on
Chicanos and Mexican Americans
Terms Identity Chola/o La Raza Pachuca Pachuco Pinta/o Xicanx Concepts Anti-Mexican sentiment
History Early-American Period Josefa Segovia Las Gorras Blancas Mexican–American War Mutualista San Elizario Salt War Sonoratown Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Pre-Chicano Movement 1917 Bath riots Bisbee Deportation Bloody Christmas Bracero program California agricultural strikes Cantaloupe strike of 1928 Citrus Strike of 1936 La Matanza Mexican Repatriation Operation Wetback Plan de San Diego Porvenir Massacre Sleepy Lagoon trial Zoot Suit Riots Chicano Movement Aztlán Black-brown unity Brown Berets Católicos por La Raza Tulare labor camps rent strike Delano grape strike Centro Cultural Chicanismo Chicano Moratorium Colegio César Chávez CFMN Conferencia de Mujeres CRP East L.A. walkouts Hijas de Cuauhtémoc Huelga schools Land grant struggle Las Adelitas de Aztlán Los Siete de la Raza Los Seis de Boulder MANA MAYO MEChA Occupation of Catalina Island PCUN Plan Espiritual de Aztlán Plan de Santa Bárbara Quinto Sol Raza Unida Party United Farm Workers Post-Chicano Period 1985–1987 cannery strike 1992 Drywall Strike 2019 El Paso shooting Abolish ICE Arizona SB 1070 Castro 2020 Chicano Art Exhibit DACA Great American Boycott IRCA Farah strike Justice for Janitors Murder of Selena Proposition 187 South Central Farm
Culture Language Abrazos, no balazos Caló Chicano English Chicano names Órale Food New Mexican cuisine Tex-Mex cuisine Mexican-American cuisine Music Chicano rap Chicano rock Chicano soul Tejano music Symbols Cal-Style VW Homies Lowrider Lowrider bicycle Mexican-American folklore Pancho Claus Zoot suit
Literature Literature Chicana literature Chicano literature Chicano poetry Autobiographical Always Running Living Up the Street Who Would Have Thought It? Novels Bless Me, Ultima Caballero Desert Blood From This Wicked Patch of Dust Mexican WhiteBoy The Dirty Girls Social Club The House on Mango Street The Rain God The Revolt of the Cockroach People So Far from God Under the Feet of Jesus ...y no se lo tragó la tierra Poetry and Short Stories Emplumada I Am Joaquin Moment of Silence Pensamiento Serpentino The Moths
Chicano studies Fields Chicana feminism Chicanafuturism Organizations MAS Programs, Tucson NACCS UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Texts Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza Brown, Not White The Church in the Barrio This Bridge Called My Back Theory Barrioization Coyolxauhqui imperative Gringo justice Nahui Ollin Nepantla New tribalism Rasquachismo Spiritual activism Vergüenza Youth control complex
Visual art Visual Art Chicana art Chicano art Chicano cinema Paño Tortilla art Art Collectives Asco Culture Clash East Los Streetscapers Los Four Mujeres Muralistas Teatro Campesino Royal Chicano Air Force Art organizations Centro de Arte Público Galería de la Raza Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Precita Eyes Self Help Graphics & Art Locations Balmy Alley Chicano Park Estrada Courts Great Wall of Los Angeles
Law Supreme Court cases Botiller v. Dominguez Hernandez v. Texas San Antonio I.S.D. v. Rodriguez Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co. U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce Plyler v. Doe Medellín v. Texas Flores-Figueroa v. U.S. Leal Garcia v. Texas Mendez v. Westminster Bernal v. Fainter Perez v. Brownell DHS v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal. Federal Court cases Madrigal v. Quilligan
Population Population by City Arizona (Tucson) California (Los Angeles) Illinois (Chicago) Michigan (Detroit) Nebraska (Omaha) Texas Dallas–Fort Worth Houston Multiethnic Blaxicans Californios Nuevomexicanos Tejanos Indigenous Mexican Americans Punjabi Mexican Americans
Lists Chicano films Chicano poets Chicano rappers Mexican Americans Writers Bibliography
United States portal Category Index
v t e

Huelga, "strike" or "freedom" schools were alternative schools set up in Houston in order to continue the education of boycotting Mexican-American students between 1970 and 1972. The schools were coordinated by Sister Gloria Gallardo and Tina Reyes. Curriculum for the schools was developed by committee with professor Edward Gonzáles acting as the head. Students learned basic skills such as reading and writing as well as history and culture.

Background

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) in the late 1960s and early 1970s refused to consider Chicano students as a minority for the purposes of desegregating schools. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) opened a case against HISD, alleging that the district was illegally segregating black and Chicano students from white students. In addition, a group called the Mexican American Education Council (MAEC) was formed to coordinate efforts to protest school segregation. Some people were critical of the actions taken by huelga schools and felt that the issue was motivated by racism against African Americans.

When school started in 1970, around 3,500 Chicano students boycotted schools run by HISD and instead attended huelga schools. Some of the students protested outside of their schools.

About

Huelga schools were staffed by teachers who volunteered their time. The schools served all ages of students and were located in churches and community centers. Members of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) also volunteered to teach history and culture. Sister Gloria Gallardo coordinated the schools. Tina Reyes ensured that the schools had enough resources to function. Curriculum was planned by a committee headed by Edward Gonzáles, a professor at the University of Houston.

In September 1970, there were around 14 huelga schools available to Chicano students. Around 2,000 students were registered to attend the schools. The number of schools rose to sixteen by September 10. The huelga schools were disbanded in October 1970 when HISD agreed to a busing plan to integrate the schools. This lasted until early in 1971.

The huelga schools opened again early in 1971 when segregation once again became an issue. The schools were poorly funded until April 1971 when the Department of Health, Education and Welfare provided a $65,000 grant to fund them through the summer. Attendance waned at the huelga schools between 1971 and 1972.

The boycott continued on and off until the end of the 1972 school year.

References

Citations

1. Kellar, William Henry (1999). Make Haste Slowly: Moderates, Conservatives, and School Desegregation in Houston. Texas A&M University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9781603447188.
2. Behnken 2011, p. 200.
3. Behnken 2011, p. 200-201.
4. ^ Behnken 2011, p. 201.
5. "Oral Histories from the Houston History Project: Jimenez, Maria". University of Houston Digital Library. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
6. Valenzuela 1999, p. 46-47.
7. ^ "Chicanos Open 7 More Strike Schools". Arizona Daily Star. 1970-09-09. p. 32. Retrieved 2017-09-21 – via Newspapers.com.
8. San Miguel 2001, p. 99-100.
9. ^ San Miguel 2001, p. 98.
10. San Miguel 2001, p. 101.
11. "'Huelga' Thunders Over Schoolyards In Houston Dispute". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 1970-09-05. p. 2. Retrieved 2017-09-23 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "School Strike Asked". Del Rio News Herald. 1970-09-10. p. 13. Retrieved 2017-09-23 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Behnken 2011, p. 202.
14. Valenzuela 1999, p. 48.
15. "Mexican American Collections" (PDF). Houston Metropolitan Research Center. p. 26. Retrieved 22 September 2017.

Sources

• Behnken, Brian D. (2011). Fighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807834787.
• San Miguel, Guadalupe (2001). Brown, Not White: School Integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781603446051.
• Valenzuela, Angela (1999). Subtractive Schooling: U.S. - Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781438422626.

External links

• El Mesias Methodist Church Huelga School flier
• Bilingual Education and the Huelga School Movement (2016 video)
• Students studying in a huelga school

• Alternative schools in the United States
• Schools in Houston