Title: Civil Rights and Conservatism - Texas Our Texas
Headings: 
Explore Texas by Historical Eras Civil Rights and Conservatism 1945-Present by Darcy McNutt
Content: World War II saw many Hispanic Texans serve – in the military and in related jobs on the home front. But access to good jobs, political office and education remained limited for many Latinos. As with African Americans, the fight for equality for Hispanics was led largely by people from the middle class. Organizations like the League of United Latin American Citizens and the American G.I. Forum offered support. Those groups were joined by the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund in 1968 and by Raza Unida in the 1970s. Education and voting were a priority for many Hispanic civil rights activists, as they were for black activists. They found some success with lawsuits against public school districts in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and other cities. But some of the debates that began with those cases are still alive today. In the decades after World War II, growing numbers of Latinos in Texas brought new political power. In 1970, about one sixth of Texans were Hispanic.