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This unit uses court cases and Supreme Court decisions to introduce an awareness of Latino civil rights struggles in America. Using state and federal cases as well as the stories of Latino 'heroes' who struggled to be treated equally in the workplace, in the classroom, in the courts and at the polls, the unit focuses on some of the forgotten people whose efforts have contributed to the growth of the United States. The unit will use events in the lives of Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans from the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to the end of the twentieth century to investigate widespread discrimination and unfair practices against Latinos in America. In addition, given the current 2006 debates in Congress over immigration and naturalization rights and restrictions, the unit introduces a deeper background and understanding of Latino immigration and settlement patterns, traditions, and value systems as well as a consideration of the political struggles Latinos have faced over the course of American history.
(Recommended for American History, grades 8-10.)