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Reviews
| The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics. By Kenneth C. Burt. Claremont, CA: Regina Books, 2007. xiii + 438 pp. Photos, illustrations, tables, appendix, notes, bibliography, and index. $24.95 (paper).
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In the study of U.S. politics and history, scholars tend to view issues of racial and ethnic empowerment and incorporation through the black-white lens. Oftentimes, the political struggles of communities of color that do not fit neatly into this bifurcated view of the population are inadvertently ignored or purposely omitted. However as ethnic groups such as Latinos have seen increasing population growth, more scholarly attention has been paid to them. Unfortunately, contemporary examinations of Latino politics in the United States tend to implicitly or explicitly frame the political participation of these community members as a new development and as a result of recent population growth. Much of the extant literature focused on politics ignores the hundreds of years of history Latinos have been in the U.S. (or in territory that later became part of the U.S.) before the 1970s. Therefore, it is refreshing to see research like this that is specifically dedicated to filling these gaps by concentrating on the history of Latinos in California politics. |
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Burt's thesis in this text is that Latino involvement in electoral politics occurred much earlier than is commonly understood and was achieved by mobilizing voters and developing coalitions. Through the use of two hundred oral histories, extensive archival research, participant observations, and academic literature drawn from Chicano studies, history, political science, labor studies, and religious studies, the author captures an often-ignored part of California's historical record. In many ways, this text provides a narrative of "firsts" in the Latino community. The story of the foundational development of contemporary Latino politics in California unfolds as Burt documents the first appointees to state, local, and federal boards; the first judges; the first city council members; the first state legislators; the first members of Congress; the first gubernatorial chief of staff; the first to create a national organization behind a presidential candidate; and the first to represent a president as a mediator between the Latino community and the presidential administration. Burt highlights the importance of individual contributors to the community's politics such as Luisa Moreno, Eduardo Quevedo, Edward Roybal, Tony Ríos, and Henry López, all of whom played key leadership roles in Latino sociopolitical empowerment and incorporation in the last seventy years. |
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While this knowledge and the analyses provided by Burt are valuable in and of themselves, they become more useful because they are framed in the context of the structural, institutional, and political dynamics of California. For example, Burt includes in his examination the role in the development of the community's political foundation of policy concerns such as school segregation, along with the impact of citizenship status, party politics, and social movements in the area of labor and union organizing. In sum, The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics provides in-depth, extensive coverage of the development of Latino politics in California that has implications for studies of Latino politics across the United States. One of the lessons learned from the early ventures of Latino political pioneers is that community mobilization was a key to change then and may continue to be. Once Latinos register to vote, they have and can continue to change the political landscape to some extent. The author's analyses also highlight the importance of building and maintaining alliances and coalitions across groups to strengthen the momentum of political empowerment movements, further political incorporation efforts, and change public policy. Finally, this research sheds light on the strategic political actions of Latino leadership across time, which adds considerably to the understanding of the origins of Latino politics. The research in this book serves to broaden our awareness of race, ethnicity, and politics in the U.S. It would be appropriate for graduate- and undergraduate-level courses in Latino politics, California politics and history, Chicano studies, and courses on ethnic politics in the United States.
Jessica Lavariega Monforti
University of Texas, Pan American
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