White But Not Equal
Check out "A Class Apart" - the new PBS American Experience documentary that explores this historic case! In 1952 in Edna, Texas, Pete Hernández, a twenty-one-year-old cotton picker, got into a fight with several men and was dragged from a tavern, robbed, and beaten. Upon reaching his home he collected his .22-caliber rifle, walked two miles back to the tavern, and shot one of the assailants. With forty eyewitnesses and a confession, the case appeared to be open and shut. Yet Hernández v....
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Ignacio García's White But Not Equal explores this historic but mostly forgotten case, which became the first to recognize discrimination against Mexican Americans. Led by three dedicated Mexican American lawyers, the case argued for recognition of Mexican Americans under the 14th Amendment as a "class apart." Despite a distinct history and culture, Mexican Americans were considered white by law during this period, yet in reality they were subjected to prejudice and discrimination. This was reflected in Hernández's trial, in which none of the selected jurors were Mexican American. The concept of Latino identity began to shift as the demand for inclusion in the political and judicial system began.
List of Illustrations ixAcknowledgments xiIntroduction 11 Pete, His Lawyers, and "the Town" That Discriminated 172 "The Mexican People Are of the Same Race" 523 Caucasian Cloak: Mexicans "White" for Judicial Conveniences 794 "May God Permit You Triumph in This Most Grand of Campaigns" 1025 "There Must Be a White Man in the Wood Pile" 1256 Lamentation, Deportation, and Integration for "Mexicans" 1497 A Differentiated Class, Not a Class APart 1708 A Victory for "Every Living Soul" 192Notes 203Bibliography 229Index 235
