xviii Chronology
years later in the case Loving v. Virginia (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court
rules that laws banning intermarriage are unconstitutional across the
nation.
1951 Over 1,000 ethnic Mexican miners lead a strike at the Empire Zinc
mine in southwestern New Mexico. An alliance between the New
Mexico state militia and the Empire Zinc mine owners leads to the
breaking of the strike. Workers are forced to call off the strike and
accept only minimal gains. The Empire Zinc Strike subsequently
becomes the subject of the movie Salt of the Earth (1954).
Cuban musician Desi Arnaz and his wife Lucille Ball star together in
the sitcom I Love Lucy. The show is a major hit, becoming one of the
most popular television shows of the 1950s, and lasts six seasons,
until 1957.
1952 Puerto Rico becomes a commonwealth of the United States.
1954 In Hernandez v. Texas, Pete Hernandez, who was convicted of murder
by an all-Anglo jury in Jackson County, Texas, challenges his convic-
tion on the grounds that Mexicans had been intentionally excluded
from juries in the county for decades. The U.S. Supreme Court eventu-
ally rules in favor of Hernandez and orders a new trial.
Four Puerto Rican activists, including their leader Lolita Lebron, fire
weapons at members of the U.S. Congress. As they display the Puerto
Rican flag, Lebron shouts “Free Puerto Rico now!” Five members of
Congress are hurt, some severely, but no one is killed. The four Puerto
Ricans, including Lebron, are captured and receive long prison
sentences.
1959 Fidel Castro leads the overthrow of U.S.-backed Cuban president Ful-
gencio Batista. Diplomatic, commercial, and cultural ties are broken
between the two countries, and the once vibrant transnational
exchange is dissolved. In the next three years, nearly a quarter million
Cubans leave the island for the United States.
1961 President Rafael Trujillo is assassinated, and his tyrannical grip on the
Dominican Republic, often with the support of the U.S. government,
comes to an end.
Community organizer Antonia Pantoja founds ASPIRA, which focuses
on improving educational opportunities for Puerto Rican youths.
The film West Side Story wins 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, and
showcases the talents of Puerto Rican singer and dancer Rita Moreno.
Moreno wins an Oscar for West Side Story (she portrays the character
Anita) and goes on to be the only Latina and one of very few women or
men to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony award.
1965 The U.S. government sends 40,000 troops to the Dominican Republic
during antigovernment protests. The U.S. invasion helps ensure the
Previous Page Next Page