Ethnic Community Builders

By documenting the oral accounts of experiences of Mexican-Americans across the American West, Ethnic Community Builders provides an original perspective of the struggles, successes, and challenges of Hispanics in urban centers. Too often, written accounts can obscure the character of important people and events. Ethnic Community Builders goes straight to the source and harmoniously captures the voices of these diverse groups of people tied together with a common bond—their unique ethnicity. -- Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Ethnic Community Builders is a voluminous work of oral histories of struggle that come together into a noble, epic community. This grass-roots history emerges like a spring of uncontainable voices, creating a chorus of brave folks committed to social change. The work is destined to become a landmark study of a city (San José) transformed by individuals who shaped their concept of the American Dream. As agents of change, these activists demonstrate in unequivocal terms how they became leaders. They provide personal models of how to change a community through aspirations, know-how, and, ultimately, hope. -- Francesco A. Lomeli, University of California, Santa Barbara
Unique and important, the authors have masterfully used oral history to create a mosaic of the animo, the soul, of the Mexican-American activists who galvanized the economically poor and socially discriminated against into a powerful community of American citizens. A must read for all those interested in ethnic community formation, Mexican-Americans in San José, CA, in particular, and the Southwest in general, those following the current immigration debates and especially partisans who allege that Mexican immigrants take more than they contribute. Read this book! -- James A. Sandos, Farquhar Professor of the Southwest, University of Redlands