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Ernest Rodriguez' "Impressions," 1960s-1980s

""The Chicano and Racism in the Midwest"" by Ernest Rodriguez Page 1

The Chicano and Racism In The Midwest
By Ernest Rodriguez
Right up to the deadline for submitting my paper I thought. 
--What the hell could I say in San Francisco, California, in a state where the Chicano movement is so strong, that would make any kind of impact on the people there? What could I say that would turn them on or off or what ever it takes to make people work for social change change? To make people go against the established grain of institutionalized white racism? Mulling over what to say about white racism only worked me up to a point of frustration and what follows is a lukewarm expression of that feeling after the calming effect of rewriting set in. 
To begin with let me point out that white racism or to be more exact prejudice and discrimination against Chicanos is the same in San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Detroit, Michigan; or anywhere else throughout "Gringolandia" just as it is in my hometown of Davenport, Iowa.
The only difference is in degree. In the southwest there are more Chicanos to be prejudiced against and to discriminate against. Also the Chicanos in the southwest are demanding their rights and in doing so stirring-up inbred racist feelings of Anglos.
These feelings are being expressed in their worst form in police brutality against the Chicano.
One of the most pernicious forms of white racism that Chicanos activists have to contend with in the midwest is that which has infected our fellow Chicanos in

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The Chicano and Racism In The Midwest By Ernest Rodriguez Right up to the deadline for submitting my paper I thought. --What the hell could I say in San Francisco, California, in a state where the Chicano movement is so strong, that would make any kind of impact on the people there? What could I say that would turn them on or off or what ever it takes to make people work for social change change? To make people go against the established grain of institutionalized white racism? Mulling over what to say about white racism only worked me up to a point of frustration and what follows is a lukewarm expression of that feeling after the calming effect of rewriting set in. To begin with let me point out that white racism or to be more exact prejudice and discrimination against Chicanos is the same in San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Detroit, Michigan; or anywhere else throughout "Gringolandia" just as it is in my hometown of Davenport, Iowa. The only difference is in degree. In the southwest there are more Chicanos to be prejudiced against and to discriminate against. Also the Chicanos in the southwest are demanding their rights and in doing so stirring-up inbred racist feelings of Anglos. These feelings are being expressed in their worst form in police brutality against the Chicano. One of the most pernicious forms of white racism that Chicanos activists have to contend with in the midwest is that which has infected our fellow Chicanos in