United States of America
In December 1999, Comite Pro-Amnistia General Y Justicia Social is organized as a grassroots organization in Seattle to draw attention to the plight of immigrant laborers in Western Washington. The group comes together immediately following the massive protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) that occurred in Seattle in late November 1999.
In the late 1960s, the Mexican-American civil rights movement flourished throughout the United States, in 1967 making its presence known in Washington's Yakima Valley. A dramatic shift occurred in the Chicana/o and Latina/o community in Eastern Washington as a previously silent population raised its voice to advocate labor rights and social equity.
On May 13 and 14, 1975, some 2,000 students converge on the administration building at the University of Washington in the wake of the mass resignation of Chicana/o staff, faculty, and graduate students in response to the firing of two Chicana/o administrators and suspension of a third staff person on May 6, 1975.
On May 13, 1977, the journal appears for the first time. It is produced out of El Centro de Estudios Chicanos (Center for Chicano Studies) at the University of Washington, and becomes an essential cultural component of the Chicano movement in Washington.
The Brown Berets Throughout the period, activism on campuses was accompanied by activism in the community. The Brown Berets emerged as a key organization linking students to communities and to young people not enrolled in college. Brown Beret chapters formed in both Yakima and at the University of Washington in Seattle, and by 1970 had attracted more than 200 members.
On May 1, 2006, thousands of people march the streets of Seattle and Yakima in support of immigrants' rights in some of the largest marches in recent history. The march, characterized as "the day without immigrants" was coordinated by immigrants' rights proponents from various sectors of the community, including faith-based organizations, organized labor, human rights groups, and students at college and high school levels.
Roots: the Mexican Muralist Movement The concept of art used to educate can be seen in the emergence of the Mexican Muralist Movement during the post-revolutionary cultural renaissance that took place in Mexico from the 1920s to the 1940s.