How Mexicans in Chicago were represented in the media in the interwar period (1919-1940)
Type of Presentation
Event
Location
Hall of Governors
Start Date
4-7-2017 12:30 PM
End Date
4-7-2017 1:30 PM
Abstract
I am researching how Mexicans in Chicago were represented in the media in the interwar period (1918-1940). I’m interested in both the history of Chicago and, as a Mexican American, in how my people came to the city and what they experienced. I’m particularly interested in seeing how the challenges and issues they dealt with in their daily lives are similar to or different from my own. Their struggle created progress for the community, allowing greater opportunities for others, including me. So, this study will help me understand how their lives shaped my own world.
My literature review, so far, shows negative responses to Mexicans. For example, the Mexican consul was arrested at a time when some blamed Mexicans for placing burdens on city resources. One judge claimed that Mexicans “come here to take work away from the Americans and later become vagrants and create a problem.” Such discrimination did not lead some Mexicans to assimilate, to Americanize, instead it strengthened loyalty to their patria, increasing their nationalism. As Michael Innis-Jiménez shows, they formed church basketball and baseball teams and Spanish-language newspapers, building community bonds .
My poster will include examples of how newspapers sources such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the African American Chicago Defender, and Spanish-language papers portrayed Mexicans from different perspectives.
How Mexicans in Chicago were represented in the media in the interwar period (1919-1940)
Hall of Governors
I am researching how Mexicans in Chicago were represented in the media in the interwar period (1918-1940). I’m interested in both the history of Chicago and, as a Mexican American, in how my people came to the city and what they experienced. I’m particularly interested in seeing how the challenges and issues they dealt with in their daily lives are similar to or different from my own. Their struggle created progress for the community, allowing greater opportunities for others, including me. So, this study will help me understand how their lives shaped my own world.
My literature review, so far, shows negative responses to Mexicans. For example, the Mexican consul was arrested at a time when some blamed Mexicans for placing burdens on city resources. One judge claimed that Mexicans “come here to take work away from the Americans and later become vagrants and create a problem.” Such discrimination did not lead some Mexicans to assimilate, to Americanize, instead it strengthened loyalty to their patria, increasing their nationalism. As Michael Innis-Jiménez shows, they formed church basketball and baseball teams and Spanish-language newspapers, building community bonds .
My poster will include examples of how newspapers sources such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the African American Chicago Defender, and Spanish-language papers portrayed Mexicans from different perspectives.