This article on Mexican American politics in Dallas, Texas during the Chicano movement was originally published in the Journal of South Texas in the Spring 2021 issue. It’s posted here with permission from the editor. Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Thank you for reading. —-
“In 1966, fed up with their miserable working conditions, South Texas farm workers organized a strike, marched, and boycotted with help from the Texas chapter of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). This event is known as the Starr County Strike and is named after the border county that sits right on the Rio Grande. The strike was organized by melon-pickers who received help from the California UFW and activists from other parts of Texas, including Dallas. In the greater history of the farmworker struggle, this event stands out as a significant example of the brutality and repression faced by those who dared to demand justice in the fields. The role that the Texas Rangers played in suppressing the strike and violently targeting union activists galvanized the greater ethnic Mexican community.
At the time, Starr County was one of the poorest counties in Texas…”
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