Let My People Go: Religion in the Civil Rights Movement and Chicano Movement
Open Access
Author:
Morris, Aaron
Area of Honors:
Interdisciplinary in History and Spanish
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
John Andres Ochoa, Thesis Supervisor Cathleen Denise Cahill, Thesis Honors Advisor Amira Rosa Davis, Thesis Supervisor John Lipski, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Civil Rights Chicano Movement Chicano Black Power Religion Christianity Islam Indigenous Activism United States History Latino
Abstract:
From the larger-than-life actors in the civil rights movement and the Chicano rights movement to the grassroots stories of pain and victory, activists utilized religion and its multiple facets and situated it at the center of these civil rights movements. Focusing on the period of 1955-1975, this thesis analyzes anecdotes, speeches, writings, and key events to demonstrate the significance of faith and the church in these movements, of which were not only factors of radicalization and activism, but in many circumstances were central to the origins and viability of these movements. Religion was critically utilized personally as motivation and as a source of dignity, corporately for rejuvenation and as a source of hope, and functionally as a meeting, operations, and planning center. Additionally, this thesis will broaden the analysis of religion in nationalist movements such as the advocacy Black Power and the reclamation of Aztlán, analyzing its role in nation-building, creating unity, and spurring a population towards a greater goal and significant purpose.
