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"The history of Mexican Americans spans more than five centuries and varies from region to region across the United States. Yet most of our history books devote a chapter at best to Chicano history, with even less attention to the story of Chicanas." "500 Years of Chicana Women's History offers a powerful antidote to this omission with a vivid, pictorial account of struggle and survival, resilience and achievement, discrimination and identity. The bilingual text, along with more than 800 photos and other illustrations, ranges from female-centered stories of pre-Columbian Mexico to profiles of contemporary social justice activists, labor leaders, youth organizers, artists, and environmentalists, among others." "Students, teachers, librarians, and community activists will all discover a remarkable combination of scholarship and youthful appeal."--Jacket.… (more)
User reviews
500 Years is not your usual history book with lots of connected text, impartial prose, and interpretation. Instead this
The book starts with the period before the arrival of the Spanish, but most of the coverage is about later periods. There is extensive discussion of Chicanas in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We see women in the Mexican revolutions, as labor organizers and teachers, and creating their own societies to assist each other. More than half of the book devoted to topical chapters about Chicana activities in recent decades. These include women in the grape boycott, in feminist organizations, as lesbians, as writers, and as elected officials.
This is not a book to be read straight through or used as a reference book. It is meant to be browsed and savored over and over in schools and homes so that the photographs of all those empowered Chicanas can soak in. Because it is bilingual and full of pictures it can be appreciated by individuals of various ages and with a variety of language skills.
I recommend 500 Years strongly. This is a book that belongs in school rooms where it can be absorbed by all students, not simply the Chicana ones. Perhaps then no one, regardless of gender or ethnic background, would try to censor such books.