The politics of patronage : lawyers, philanthropy, and the Mexican American legal defense and educational fund

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910838224303321
• Autore: Márquez Benjamin
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Austin : , : University of Texas Press, , 2021; ©2021
• ISBN: 1-4773-2331-7; 1-4773-2330-9
• Edizione: [First edition.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (184 pages)
• Disciplina: 362.84/6872073
• Soggetti: Latin Americans - Political activity; Mexican Americans - Political activity; HISTORY / General; History; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Cause lawyers, foundations and social movements -- A legal defense fund for Mexican Americans -- The Chicano movement -- Building a better organization -- The docket -- Conclusion.
• Sommario/riassunto: Founded in 1968, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is the Latino equivalent to the NAACP: a source of legal defense for the Latina/o community in cases centered on education, state immigration laws, redistricting, employment discrimination, and immigrant rights. Unlike the NAACP, however, MALDEF was founded by Mexican American activists in conjunction with the larger philanthropic structure of the Ford Foundation?a relationship that has opened it up to controversy and criticism. In the first book to examine this little-known but highly influential organization, Benjamin M?rquez explores MALDEF?s history and shows how it has thrived and served as a voice for the Latina/o community throughout its six decades of operation. But he also looks closely at large-scale investments of the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and others, considering how their ties to MALDEF have influenced Mexican American and Latinx politics. ; Its story crafted from copious research into MALDEF and its benefactors, this book brings to light the influence of outside funding on the articulation of minority identities and the problems that come with creating change through institutional means.