Brown, Not White facts for kids

Brown, Not White: School Integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston is an important book from 2005 by Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr. It talks about how Mexican Americans in Houston, Texas, worked for their rights during the 20th century. This movement is known as the Chicano Movement.

The book is part of a special series from the University of Houston that focuses on Mexican American studies. Dr. Tatcho Mindiola Jr. helped make this series possible.

Understanding the Fight for Rights

This book helps us understand the history of Mexican Americans in Houston and their efforts to get fair treatment, especially in schools.

Early Years: 1900-1960

The first part of the book looks at the Mexican-American community in Houston from 1900 to 1960. During this time, some Hispanic leaders wanted people of Hispanic background to be seen as "White" by law. This was often to avoid the same segregation that African Americans faced.

Life Before World War II

Chapter 1 talks about the Hispanic community before World War II. It describes how people lived and what their daily lives were like.

Mexican Children in Schools

Chapter 2 explains how Mexican children were treated in schools. It shows how school rules and policies affected their education.

Efforts to Change Schools

Chapter 3 shares stories of Hispanic individuals who tried to improve the school system. They worked hard to make education better for all students.

Community Debates on Reform

Chapter 4 discusses the different ideas within the Hispanic community about how to fix the education system. People had many discussions about the best way forward.

Becoming a Recognized Minority

The second part of the book describes a big change. The Hispanic community started to ask to be seen as a non-white minority group. This was important for a school desegregation plan in the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

The HISD Desegregation Plan

In 1970, HISD tried to desegregate schools by mixing Black and Mexican students. But they didn't include Anglo White students in this plan. They used the idea that Mexican students were "white" as a way around true desegregation.

The Huelga (Strike)

Mexican American students and their families responded by organizing a strike, or huelga. They refused to attend school to protest HISD's unfair plan.

Fighting for Minority Status in Court

The third part of the book details the efforts to officially classify Mexican Americans as a racial minority group.

The Mexican American Educational Council

The book highlights the work of the Mexican American Educational Council (MAEC). This group fought against HISD's original desegregation plan. They worked to be recognized by HISD and the court system as a group representing Mexican American students.

Important Contributions of the Book

Experts have praised Brown, Not White for its insights. José M. Alamillo from Washington State University noted that the book shows how many different people—men and women, from various backgrounds and ages—were key to the Chicano Movement. This was different from some earlier ideas that focused mostly on students.

Rodolfo Rosales from the University of Texas at San Antonio said that chapters 5-7 are the "heart of the narrative." These chapters explain how the Mexican community worked to make changes in the schools.

How the Book Was Made

Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr. had written another important book before this one, called Let All of Them Take Heed": Mexican Americans and the Campaign for Educational Equality in Texas, 1910-1981. This earlier book also covered the history of Mexican American education in Texas.

While researching Houston's education history, San Miguel found out about the student strikes (huelgas). He realized how important this topic was and decided to write a whole book about it.

San Miguel used information from the Houston Metropolitan Research Center to help him write Brown, Not White. This center has many historical documents and records.