Desert Dreams: Mexican Arizona and the Politics of Educational Equality

Desert Dreams is a book that chronicles seventy-five years of Mexican American efforts to attain educational equality in Arizona, from the nineteenth century to the post–World War II era. It reveals how Arizonenses embraced the United States expecting to be treated as American citizens, but Anglo Arizonans wrote laws and designed schools to transform Mexicans from "unassimilable immigrants" into "American workers". Arizonenses confronted these attitudes by developing their own politics of educational equality, founding public schools, serving as school leaders, promoting Spanish and English bilingualism, and encouraging their children to pursue high school and college. This led to Romo v. Laird (1925), the earliest known school desegregation case filed in the state, and regional networks that brought them into conversation with Mexican Americans and allies in Southern California and across the borderlands.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 19 December 2023
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Desert Dreams is a captivating chronicle that spans seventy-five years of Mexican American efforts to achieve educational equality in Arizona, from its territorial era in the nineteenth century to the post-World War II era. In her insightful work, Laura K. Muñoz delves into the experiences of Arizona Mexicans, or Arizonenses, who eagerly embraced the United States with the hope of being treated as American citizens. However, their expectations were met with resistance from Anglo Arizonans, who sought to transform Mexicans from "unassimilable immigrants" into "American workers" by restricting their education to fluency in English and mastery of basic domestic and industrial skills.

Undeterred, Arizonenses fought back against these anti-Mexican attitudes by developing their own politics of educational equality. They established public schools, assumed leadership roles in education, promoted Spanish and English bilingualism, and encouraged their children to pursue higher education. Through these unwavering efforts, a small but determined group of Arizonenses gained the necessary education to establish a prosperous middle class. This cohort included students, teachers, lawyers, and politicians who tirelessly advocated for Arizonense civil rights, particularly the right to a quality education. Their unwavering commitment resulted in significant milestones, including Romo v. Laird (1925), the earliest known school desegregation case filed in the state.

Moreover, Arizonenses forged regional networks that connected them with Mexican Americans and allies in Southern California and across the borderlands. As the first comprehensive social history of Mexican Americans in Arizona before 1960, Desert Dreams vividly showcases the profound political, legal, and educational debates that Arizonenses engaged in across generations. These debates ultimately gave rise to a national Mexican American political consciousness, shaping the course of history and paving the way for greater equality and recognition for Mexican Americans in the United States.

Dimension: 9 x 6 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781512825114