a new era, and Mexican-Americans are activated Americans. They are telling American that they, too, are entering the game; that they, too, belong. How well they succeed will be directly related to their own abilities to replace fragmented, weak organizations by effective political unity, to utilize ethnic identity as a root-force for progress within a larger society and to develop leadership dedicated to the fulfillment of the rising expectations of all Mexican-Americans”. And Gonzales did. Chicano Youth Liberation Conferences In 1968, the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C., was originally started by Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination, associates took on the campaign that represented the first broad-based initiatives introduced by Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans to promote economic justice and land rights. Participants attended seminars and panels on organizing, activism, and self-defense as well as Chicano culture and gender issues. The activities within these seminars, workshops, and panels were painting, poetry, debates, and networking to other activists in the country. A main idea that developed from this campaign was that everyone would be united in the struggle against oppression, exploitation, and racism. Like third-world countries who have fought against colonialism and the dominance of European and American imperialism, Chicanos began to see their struggles the same way: Chicanos too had been colonized by mainstream American Society, stripped of culture, and taught to be ashamed of who they were and where they came from. The best known Chicano Youth Liberation Conference was held in 1969, brought together large numbers of Chicano youth from throughout the United States, and provided them with opportunities to express views on self-determination and involved in both on-campus and community politics. This conference brought youth of all types - students, non-students, militant youth from the street gangs (vatos locos), and ex-convicts (pintos) to discuss community issues and politics of 3,000 people. The conference emphasized themes related to the quest for identity as popularized by Gonzáles and Luis Valdez, which were “eagerly received by students searching for an ideology for the emerging student movement.” Chicano youth believed that for Mexican Americans to be instilled with pride in their ethnicity and culture; Chicanos needed to reject the dominant values of American Society, including capitalism and white Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture. During the week-long conference, Gonzáles stressed the need for students and youth to play a revolutionary role in the movement. Conference participants were told that previous