The Mexican-American Educational Council (MAEC) was a post

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

-movement non-profit organization in the

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

area. Its principal goal was to achieve equitable access to public education for Mexican Americans in Texas.

History

In late 1970, MAEC organized boycotts and walkouts of schools within the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD) in protest against the district's racist integration orders. In protest, MAEC established "huelga" schools where Mexican American children could attend school while the concerns were resolved. More than 3,500 students participated in the protests. MAEC was formed in the summer of 1970. MAEC was headed by Leonel Castillo and an activist nun, Sister

Gloria Gallardo Gloria Graciela Gallardo (October 16, 1938 - February 14, 2012) was a Chicana activist and former religious sister. She is best known for her involvement in the 1970 student boycotts in Houston, coordinating the huelga schools and for co-founding ...

, served as interim director for a while. On August 25, 1970, Castillo spoke at a hastily-planned press conference, explaining the position of MAEC. On August 31, 1970 MAEC began aggressive boycotts, protests, and picketing. These actions lasted approximately three weeks, during which around 60% of the student bodies of some high schools participated in the boycotts. To advance their cause, they petitioned and received $65,000 in funding from the

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

in 1970. During the protests MAEC demanded twenty issues to be resolved and HISD began rezoning school areas within its jurisdiction in response. However, this rezoning encouraged "white flight" since minorities were now entering "white schools" in large numbers. At first the district used

forced busing Race-integration busing in the United States (also known simply as busing, Integrated busing or by its critics as forced busing) was the practice of assigning and transporting students to schools within or outside their local school districts in ...

, but later switched to a voluntary

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

program in order to discourage "

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

".Berryhill, Michael. "What's Wrong With Wheatley?." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. April 17, 1997.
p. 3
Retrieved on March 31, 2009. The district eventually integrated races in a semi-peaceful manner.

References

{{Reflist History of civil rights in the United States Mexican-American culture in Houston Mexican-American history Nonviolent resistance movements Defunct American political movements

History

See also

References