Abstract
This study examines the history of the Black Berets of Albuquerque and their role in the Chicana/o Movement of New Mexico. The Black Berets of Albuquerque were part of a trend in the Civil Rights and Chicana/o Movement era that saw militant youth-based community groups in urban areas form in response to racial discrimination, poverty, educational and health disparities, and police brutality. The issues the Black Berets formed to confront were based on the unique urbanization process that Albuquerque went through that created political and economic disempowerment for the Chicana/o people but made the city a major site for Chicana/o organizing. The Black Berets, motivated by a politics of self-determination, tackled the social issues confronting Chicanas/os in Albuquerque through efforts like building alternative institutions to create community power and self-determination. The Black Berets oppositional stances made them targets of police and vigilante repression resulting in unwarranted surveillance, arrests, and physical force directed at them, which made them respond through community defense. The attacks led to the end of the organization, but their members continued their activism in new forms. The history of the Black Berets is an important one for the Chicana/o Movement and the history of New Mexico.
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Level of Degree
Masters
First Committee Member
LM Garcia y Griego
Recommended Citation
Chavez, Jerome J.. ""It Was Really Up To Us": The History of the Black Berets of Albuquerque in the Chicana/o Movement of New Mexico." (2023). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ccs_etds/5
