The experience of Chicanas remains one of the most important and underexplored aspects of the Chicano Movement in South Texas. During the second half of the 20th century, Chicano individuals and allies across South Texas advocated for stronger civil rights in education, labor, law, economics, and community life. Chicana women were central in these efforts, including on the Texas A&I/Texas A&M University-Kingsville Campus; however, their perspectives are underrepresented in our archival records, scholarly analyses, and public humanities. 

The purpose of this study is to examine the roles that Chicana women played in the Chicano Movement in and around the Texas A&I campus and surrounding communities, focusing on the roles and jobs they held during the movement, their relationships with their peers, their participation in important events and spaces of activism, their impressions of the movement, and the challenges they experienced in the Chicano Movement. 

Utilizing a qualitative research approach, this project will conduct interviews to document the oral histories of Chicanas involved in these efforts, focusing on the years from 1965-1985. The insights they share will be examined together with archival records in the South Texas Archives. Through this joint methodology, this project will increase the representation of Chicana voices in the public history of the region by recording their stories and highlighting their involvement in the Chicano Movement.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christine Reiser Robbins

Department of Psychology and Sociology