A Clamor for Equality: Emergence and Exile of Californio Activist Francisco P. Ram叝ez (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780896727632)

A dramatic response to American racism occurred in Los Angeles during 1855 when eighteen-year-old Francisco P. Ram叝ez published a Spanish-language newspaper, El Clamor P炻lico. Ram叝ez called upon a Mexican American majority to seize control of their destiny by electing themselves to public office. Ram叝ez was a radical liberal in a town controlled by white conservative Southerners with antebellum values. Nevertheless, from 1855 to 1859, he railed against slavery and ridiculed those in Los Angeles who supported it. His demands for Mexican equality, the abolition of slavery, free elections, and education for women were well ahead of his time. He was the first civil rights activist in Los Angeles. In December 1859 El Clamor P炻lico bankrupted for lack of popular support. For three decades afterward Ram叝ez was involved in every major political and social movement of his day. He continued to champion equality and civil rights as a San Francisco newspaper editor and the only Mexican American lawyer in Los Angeles. Ram叝ez's dramatic entry into public life to his previously veiled years of exile, Gray's illuminating biography speaks volumes about the history of ethnic conflict, politics, and violence in Southern California. From Ram叝ez's dramatic entry into public life to his previously veiled years of exile, Gray's illuminating biography speaks volumes about the history of ethnic conflict, politics, and violence in Southern California.

Author: Paul Bryan Gray
ISBN-10: 0896727637
ISBN-13: 9780896727632
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/15/2012
Pages: 408
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.60lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.60w x 1.30d