The Revolt of the Cockroach People is a novel by

Oscar Zeta Acosta Oscar "Zeta" Acosta Fierro (; April 8, 1935 – disappeared 1974) was a Mexican-American attorney, politician, novelist and activist in the Chicano Movement. He was most well known for his novels '' Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo'' (1972) and ...

. It tells the story of a

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 ...

lawyer, "Buffalo Zeta Brown," fictionalizing events from Oscar Acosta's own life, including the East L.A. walkouts at Garfield High School, the founding of the Brown Berets, the Christmas protests at St. Basil's church, the Castro v. Superior Court decision of 1970, Acosta's run for sheriff of Los Angeles County later that year, the Chicano National Moratorium, and the death of

Ruben Salazar Ruben Salazar (March 3, 1928 – August 29, 1970) was a civil rights activist and a reporter for the ''Los Angeles Times,'' the first Mexican-American journalist from mainstream media to cover the Chicano community. Salazar was killed during the ...

, who is referred to as "Roland Zanzibar" in the novel. Acosta uses the historical events of the late 1960s and early 1970s "as the context for the construction of a Chicano identity and the realization of a revolutionary class consciousness." Acosta frames Brown as a lawyer who understands the United States's legal system as both arbitrary and differential and therefore comes to the realization that an "objective truth" can never materialize "either in the courtroom or elsewhere." Through the character of Brown, Acosta acknowledges that what is understood as "truth" is a

social construct Social constructionism is a theory in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory which proposes that certain ideas about physical reality arise from collaborative consensus, instead of pure observation of said reality. The theory ...

or cultural convention. This realization is destabilizing yet invigorating for Brown, who understands that law can function both "as a tool of repression but it may also be used to project a radically new form of legality that cannot be achieved within present institutions," as described by Mexican-American scholar

Ramón Saldívar Ramón Saldívar (born 1949) is an American author, teacher and researcher of cultural studies and Chicano literature."Ramón Saldívar." The Human Experience: Inside the Humanities at Stanford University. Stanford University, n.d. Web. November 21 ...

. Saldívar characterizes this as an important moment for Brown (and Acosta), as he understands that "ideological commitment to a cause" is not a matter of identifying "truth" or "falsehood" but an "issue of taking sides in a struggle between embattled groups."

Plot

Brown becomes involved with the

Chicano movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento, was a social and political movement in the United States inspired by prior acts of resistance among people of Mexican descent, especially of Pachucos in the 1940s and 1950s, and the Black ...

when he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1968 looking to write a book. He spent three years with the Chicano Militants, defending them in various court cases and helping to organize protests and marches. The novel depicts the radical Chicano movement in the fictional barrio of "Tooner Flats" in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

. The leaders are eventually indicted on charges of conspiracy to disrupt the schools. Brown defends them and wins.

References

External links

Study resource for ''The Revolt of the Cockroach People''
1972 American novels American autobiographical novels Novels by Oscar Zeta Acosta Hispanic and Latino American novels Novels set in Los Angeles Fiction set in 1970 Fictional cockroaches Chicano Chicano literature {{1970s-novel-stub