Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles

by Rodolfo F. Acuna

Overview

Originally published in the tumult of 1996, in an era of new nativism and panic about the Latinization of America, Anything But Mexican solidified Rodolfo Acuña's position as "the W.E.B. Du Bois of Chicano Studies." A stirring, insightful chronicle of Los Angeles' working-class Chicanos, this extensively revised edition brings their story and struggles up to the present day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786633798
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.21(d)

About the Author

Rodolfo F. Acuña is the founding chair of the Chicana/o Studies department at California State University at Northridge—the largest Chicana/o Studies Department in the United States. He has authored twenty-two books, including three children’s books, and Voices of the US Latino Experience; Corridors of Migration: Odyssey of Mexican Laborers, 1600–1933; and Occupied America: A History of Chicanos.

 

Table of Contents

Preface: Anything But Mexican vii

Acknowledgements xviii

Introduction to the Second Edition: The Context of Anything But Mexican 1

1 "Whose America?": Introducing Chicano L.A. 11

2 Taking Back Chicano History 31

3 Chicanas/os in Politics: The Illusion of Inclusion 57

4 Marching Mothers 77

5 Politics for the Few 101

6 Immigration: "The Border Crossed Us" 119

7 The Politicization of the "Other" 150

8 Mexican/Latino Labor in L.A.: Working in a Meaner, Leaner World 175

9 Chicanas in Los Angeles 205

10 México Lindo and NAFTA 233

11 Troubled Angels 262

12 The Stairway to the Good Life 295

Conclusion 322

Notes 331

Index 443

Editorial Reviews

Anything But Mexican challenges neoliberal interpretations of the history of Los Angeles which blame Mexicans and other immigrants of color for the decline of the city. Acuña’s provocative work confronts these historical myths, signalling that Latinos will not be dismissed.”
—Deena González, Pomona College

“Required reading on Chicanos in the Southwest. This book will stand amongst the classics in Chicano Studies.”
—Teresa Cordova, University of New Mexico

"This book defines important political and social space for Latinos in what has become the capital of Mexicans in the US. Anything But Mexican is a sensitive and often pointed discourse."
– Carlos Velez-Ibanez, UC Riverside              

"Rodolfo Acuña is one of the foremost  scholar/activists in the country, bridging the gap between the Chicano  movement and a multi-racial left that is often uninformed about the  growing strategic importance of Latinos in the US."
– Eric Mann, Director, Labor Community Strategy Center, Los Angeles              

"A political and social history every  bit as insightful and powerful as the earlier works by a pioneering  Chicano scholar dubbed by some the 'W.E.B. Dubois of Chicano Studies.'"
– James Cockcroft, SUNY Empire

From the Publisher