The Making of a Chicano Militant: Lessons from Cristal (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography)

Read the book in college and inspired me to want to meet Mr. Gutierrez.Finally met him a couple of times and never ceased to impress me with his oratory skills.A good read for Hispanics (Mexican-Americans).

I read this in college as part of a basic American history class, and the things I learned from this book about the Chicano movement really opened my eyes as to how our system fails many communities. It was also empowering to learn of how teens stood up for their communities through the school walkouts. Highly recommended for people who want to learn about a movement for civil rights that's rarely covered in school curriculum.

I teach high school US history classes and as a teacher, I BELIEVE this book should be MANDITORY IN ALL CLASSROOMS! All of my students have to read it and will continue to read it until I retire! It's unfortunate that not many books tell the truth about this country's history. I am more than happy to state truthfully and without a doubt that this one absolutely does!

The Crystal City student walkout was sparked by the Crystal City's school board refusal to allow Chicano students to run for homecoming queen or cheerleader. No matter how you want to slice it, how would you feel if someone told you that your daughter wasn't good enough or pretty enough to run for homecoming queen or try out for cheerleader?What the school board did was wrong, pure and simple. Gutierrez details how he channeled this anger to bring about monunmental changes in Texas, a state that used to regularly kill Hispanics for "getting out of line." There may be disagreement with his rhetoric, or his methods, but denying a large part of the student body from participating in high school traditions is just plain wrong.Read it and decide for yourself.It angered me, and I'm an old white guy with a teen-aged daughter.