Mexican American Youth Organization
Encyclopedia
The Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) is a civil rights
organization formed in 1967 in San Antonio, Texas
, USA to fight for Mexican-American rights. The creators of MAYO, Los Cinco, consisted of José Ángel Gutiérrez
, Willie Velásquez, Mario Compean, Ignacio Pérez
, and Juan Patlán. MAYO and its political organization, Raza Unida Party
, played an important part in Texas
history during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. They were a part of the larger Chicano
movement in the United States, and played a role in bringing about civil rights for Mexican-Americans.
As quoted from: "La Raza Unida Party: a Chicano challenge to the U.S. two-party dictatorship." By: Armando Navarro, Page 24.
ISBN:1566397715
in South Texas. Founding member of MAYO Willie Velásquez was posthumously given a Congressional Medal of Honor for his work with voter registration. MAYO did well at getting voters registered, but they were not successful in getting the Hispanic
voters out to the polls to vote, especially in metropolitan areas.
School walkouts were a major part of MAYO’s approach to achieving equality for Mexican Americans. They staged walkouts at least 18 times. which helped enable Mexican Americans to take over seats on Texas school boards. The major walkouts were in Crystal City, Kingsville, Edgewood and Lanier High Schools in San Antonio. By becoming members of previously all white school boards, MAYO was able to participate in deciding what was best for their own people.
MAYO led to the creation of Raza Unida Party (The Race United), a third party political group that found many of their first members in the ranks of MAYO. They played the central role in the creation of La Raza Unida Party, or RUP, which quickly spread to other states. MAYO was later integrated into RUP and became the youth arm of the party. MAYO adopted a logo, appropriated from Aeronaves de México, an Aztec
warrior inside a circle. This was later used in the Raza Unida Party logo as well. RUP candidates won elections in the 70’s.
The League of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC), one of the leading Hispanic groups in Texas, was considered by MAYO too soft in its approach to achieving equality for Mexican Americans. Because of MAYO’s tactics, which were diametrically opposed to LULAC’s, it became known as the militant arm of the Chicano movement.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
organization formed in 1967 in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, USA to fight for Mexican-American rights. The creators of MAYO, Los Cinco, consisted of José Ángel Gutiérrez
José Ángel Gutiérrez
José Angel Gutiérrez, is an attorney and professor at the University of Texas at Arlington in the United States. He was a founding member of the Mexican American Youth Organization in San Antonio in 1967, and a founding member and past president of the Raza Unida Party, a Mexican-American third...
, Willie Velásquez, Mario Compean, Ignacio Pérez
Ignacio Pérez
Ignacio Pérez Sierra was a Colombian footballer. He was a member of the Colombian national football team at the 1962 FIFA World Cup which was held in Chile. Pérez played club football for Once Caldas.-References:...
, and Juan Patlán. MAYO and its political organization, Raza Unida Party
Raza Unida Party
Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida is an American political party centered on Chicano interests. The party was termed La Raza in reference to the Mestizo people. During the 1970s the Party campaigned for better housing, work, and educational opportunities for Mexican-Americans...
, played an important part in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
history during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. They were a part of the larger Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
movement in the United States, and played a role in bringing about civil rights for Mexican-Americans.
Formation
“MAYO was born in March 1967 in San Antonio, where Mexicanos, who constituted some 40 percent of the population, were powerless and impoverished. It was the brain child of five young Chicano student activists-Jose Angel Gutierrez, Mario Compean, William “Willie” Velasquez, Ignacio Perez, and Juan Patlan. All were graduate or undergraduate students at Saint Mary’s, a small liberal arts college in San Antonio (now Saint Mar's University). At the Fountain Room, a bar (still operating at 918 Bandera Rd. to this day,) several blocks form Saint Mary’s, Los Cino (as they became known), over the course of several weeks, met on a regular basis and held a number of study sessions, which culminated in MAYO.”As quoted from: "La Raza Unida Party: a Chicano challenge to the U.S. two-party dictatorship." By: Armando Navarro, Page 24.
ISBN:1566397715
Political Activism
MAYO was involved in voter registrationVoter registration
Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...
in South Texas. Founding member of MAYO Willie Velásquez was posthumously given a Congressional Medal of Honor for his work with voter registration. MAYO did well at getting voters registered, but they were not successful in getting the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
voters out to the polls to vote, especially in metropolitan areas.
School walkouts were a major part of MAYO’s approach to achieving equality for Mexican Americans. They staged walkouts at least 18 times. which helped enable Mexican Americans to take over seats on Texas school boards. The major walkouts were in Crystal City, Kingsville, Edgewood and Lanier High Schools in San Antonio. By becoming members of previously all white school boards, MAYO was able to participate in deciding what was best for their own people.
MAYO led to the creation of Raza Unida Party (The Race United), a third party political group that found many of their first members in the ranks of MAYO. They played the central role in the creation of La Raza Unida Party, or RUP, which quickly spread to other states. MAYO was later integrated into RUP and became the youth arm of the party. MAYO adopted a logo, appropriated from Aeronaves de México, an Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
warrior inside a circle. This was later used in the Raza Unida Party logo as well. RUP candidates won elections in the 70’s.
The League of United Latin American Citizens
League of United Latin American Citizens
The League of United Latin American Citizens was created to combat the discrimination that Hispanics face in the United States. Established February 17, 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas, LULAC was a consolidation of smaller, like-minded civil rights groups already in existence...
(LULAC), one of the leading Hispanic groups in Texas, was considered by MAYO too soft in its approach to achieving equality for Mexican Americans. Because of MAYO’s tactics, which were diametrically opposed to LULAC’s, it became known as the militant arm of the Chicano movement.