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League of of United Latin American Citizens formed
The LULAC is the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was founded by Pedro Hernandez Barrera and Maria L. de Hernandez on February 17th of 1929. Its headquarters are in Washington DC, and its purpose is to empower and develop opportunities for Latin Americans. -
Hernandez v. Texas court case
This case was the first and only Mexican-American civil-rights case heard and decided by the United States Supreme Court during the post-World War II period. Pete Hernandez was originally convicted of murder by an all-white jury, but this ruling was later overturned because Mexican Americans had been prohibited from the case's jury. Pete was then tried again, with Mexican Americans on the jury. He was still found guilty, but it marked an important change in the justice system. -
Voting Rights Act
This act prohibited racial discrimination in voting, meaning that Mexican Americans were now able to vote. Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, it outlawed many of the practices put in place in southern US states after the Civil War such as prerequisite literacy tests in order to vote. -
MALDEF formed
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 by Jack Greenberg to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States. MALDEF has focused its efforts on protecting and promoting equal rights for Latinos, and constitutional rights for all, in four core program areas — education, employment and economic advancement, immigrants' rights, and voting rights and political access. -
Equal Opportunity Act put in place
This act prohibited job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This meant that Mexican Americans now had better job opportunities, as employers could not turn them away simply for being a minority anymore. This act was an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making it a federal law.