The Chicano Movement of the 1960s and '70s, like so much of the period's politics, is best known for its radicalism: militancy, distrust of mainstream institutions, demands for rapid change. Less understood, yet no less significant in its aims, actions, and impact, was the movement's moderate elements. In the Midst of Radicalism presents the first full account of these more mainstream liberal activists-those who rejected the politics of protest and worked within the system to promote social change for the Mexican American community. The radicalism of the Chicano Movement marked a sharp break from the previous generation of Mexican Americans. Even so, historian Guadalupe San Miguel Jr. contends, the first-generation agenda of moderate social change persisted. His book reveals how, even in the ferment of the '60s and '70s, Mexican American moderates used conventional methods to expand access to education, electoral politics, jobs, and mainstream institutions. Believing in the existing social structure, though not the status quo, they fought in the courts, at school board meetings, as lobbyists and advocates, and at the ballot box. They did not mount demonstrations, but in their own deliberate way, they chipped away at the barriers to their communities' social acceptance and economic mobility. Were these men and women pawns of mainstream political leaders, or were they true to the Mexican American community, representing its diverse interests as part of the establishment? San Miguel explores how they contributed to the struggle for social justice and equality during the years of radical activism. His book assesses their impact and how it fit within the historic struggle for civil rights waged by others since the early 1900s. In the Midst of Radicalism for the first time shows us these moderate Mexican American activists as they were-playing a critical role in the Chicano Movement while maintaining a long-standing tradition of pursuing social justice for their community.

From the dance halls to the main stage, from small town Texas to the big cities, musica tejana is rapidly becoming known as a rich and vibrant form of American music. The twentieth century has seen Texas Mexican music balance between the traditional and the modern, remaining rooted in Mexico while taking nourishment from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States.

In Tejano Proud, Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr., provides a history of the evolution of musica tejana -- its ups and downs and its importance to Mexican Texas culture in the context of Anglo-Mexican relations. He also discusses the more recent development of the Tejano recording industry and the role women have begun to play in an industry long dominated by men.

Strikes, boycotts, rallies, negotiations, and litigation marked the efforts of Mexican-origin community members to achieve educational opportunities and oppose discrimination in Houston schools in the early 1970s. The Houston Independent School District sparked these responses because it circumvented a court order to desegregate by classifying Mexican American children as ""white"" and integrating them with African American children - leaving Anglos in segregated schools. In ""Brown, Not White"", Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr., traces the evolution of the community's political activism in education during the Chicano Movement era of the early 1970s. San Miguel also identifies the important implications of this struggle for Mexican Americans and for public education. The political mobilization in Houston signaled a shift in the activist community's identity from the assimilationist ""Mexican American Generation"" to the rising Chicano Movement with its ""nationalist"" ideology. It also introduced Mexican American interests into educational policy making in general and into the national desegregation struggles in particular. This important study will engage those interested in public school policy as well as scholars of Mexican American history and the history of desegregation in America.