New Book Examines Latino Activism in the Midwest

Title: La Causa: Civil Rights, Social Justice and the Struggle for Equality in the Midwest
Edited by: Dr. Gilberto Cárdenas


Conventional assumptions of demographics in the United States often imply that Latinos have traditionally been confined to the Southwest and urban centers of the East Coast, but Latinos have been living in the Midwest since the late nineteenth century. Their presence has rarely been documented and studied, in spite of their widespread participation in the industrial development of the Midwest, its communications infrastructure and labor movements. The populations of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Hispanic origins living in the region have often been seen as removed not only from mainstream America but also from the movements for human and civil rights that dominated Latino public discourse in the Southwest and Northeast during the 1960s and 1970s.

In the first text examining Latinos in this region, historians and social science scholars have come together to document and evaluate the efforts and progress toward social justice. Distinguished scholars examine such diverse topics as advocacy efforts, civil rights and community organizations, Latina Civil Rights efforts, ethnic diversity and political identity, effects of legislation for Homeland Security, and political empowerment.

Dr. Gilberto Cárdenas, the organizer and editor, penned an overarching introductory essay, and contributors include David A. Badillo, Miguel Carranza, Patricia Mendoza, Renee Moreno, Judith Murphy, Victor Ortiz, Ricardo Parra, Sylvia Puente, Refugio Rochín, María de los Angeles Torres and Martha Zurita.

Combining both the research and analyses by these scholars and their supplementary documents, including charts, tables, and other materials, La Causa fills a gaping void in the literature available about the Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest.
Dr. Gilberto Cárdenas is the Director of the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies.