MACRI Talk Tardeada with Dr. Guadalupe San Miguel

Join us for a MACRI Talk Tardeada with Dr. Guadalupe San Miguel about his book IN THE MIDST OF RADICALISM: MEXICAN AMERICAN MODERATES DURING THE CHICANO MOVEMENT, 1960-1978. Learn about the role of Mexican American moderates in advancing social justice through policy and reform during this period.

NOTE: We have limited in-person seating at the MACRI Visitor Center, so if you wish to attend in person, please reserve a seat by selecting the "IN-PERSON ticket" option below.

Live streaming is available for all!  Our FREE virtual event will stream live on Facebook at https://bit.ly/FB-MACRI & YouTube at https://bit.ly/YT-MACRI at 2PM Central Time. Just click on your preferred site to join the presentation at 2PM CT!

🌟 This program is underwritten by AARP Texas! Gracias! 🌟

MACRI's programs are funded in part by the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture, Bexar County, the Mellon Foundation, the John L. Santimos Charitable Foundation Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, Wells Fargo, and individual donors like you!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Chicano Movement of the 1960s and ’70s, like so much of the period’s politics, is best known for its radicalism: militancy, distrust of mainstream institutions, demands for rapid change. Less understood, yet no less significant in its aims, actions, and impact, was the movement’s moderate elements. In the Midst of Radicalism presents the first full account of these more mainstream liberal activists—those who rejected the politics of protest and worked within the system to promote social change for the Mexican American community.  The radicalism of the Chicano Movement marked a sharp break from the previous generation of Mexican Americans. Even so, historian Guadalupe San Miguel Jr. contends, the first-generation agenda of moderate social change persisted. His book reveals how, even in the ferment of the ’60s and ’70s, Mexican American moderates used conventional methods to expand access to education, electoral politics, jobs, and mainstream institutions. Believing in the existing social structure, though not the status quo, they fought in the courts, at school board meetings, as lobbyists and advocates, and at the ballot box. They did not mount demonstrations, but in their own deliberate way, they chipped away at the barriers to their communities’ social acceptance and economic mobility. Were these men and women pawns of mainstream political leaders, or were they true to the Mexican American community, representing its diverse interests as part of the establishment? San Miguel explores how they contributed to the struggle for social justice and equality during the years of radical activism. His book assesses their impact and how it fit within the historic struggle for civil rights waged by others since the early 1900s.  In the Midst of Radicalism for the first time shows us these moderate Mexican American activists as they were—playing a critical role in the Chicano Movement while maintaining a long-standing tradition of pursuing social justice for their community.

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Dr. San Miguel is a scholar of U.S. history who specializes in Mexican American Education and culture. Professor San Miguel received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Much of San Miguel's research has focused on the impact of politics, culture, and language on the education of Mexican Americans. He also has served on the History Department's Executive and Graduate committees. He was President of the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies and has served on the Board of Directors for the Institute for the History of Texas Music at Southwestern Texas State University and on the editorial board of the Journal of Latinos and Education. Professor San Miguel has received many awards including the Public Forum Distinguished Lecture Award from North Harris College, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies-Tejas foco, an Outstanding Book Award for the best book on the History of Education for Brown, Not White, and an international award for one of his articles published in 2016. In 2020 the History of Education Quarterly selected one of his publications as one of the top ten best articles published during the past 60 years.