In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo recognized the legal status of Mexican Americans as white. Though in society Mexican immigrants were not treated as such, during the wartime of the 1940s, Mexican American men and women asserted this “whiteness” to differentiate themselves from the other minority populations as well as claim certain privileges. The government enacted the change in legal status, using it a tool to uphold the racial hierarchical structure previously established in United States. However, the “whiteness” actually resulted in Mexican American youth moving away from homogenizing with white culture, instead forming their own unique culture and identity through the pachuca figure.
The status of Mexican Americans as technically white altered the racial relationship in the United States, principally when women gained access to the workforce and began to interact with other races. Though people of Mexican descent were not received as white in any aspect of society, their legal status of being white, or at least not being defined as “colored” shifted the relationship between Mexican Americans and other minority groups. This “whiteness,” “…shield[ed] Mexicans, to some extent, from the legalized and at times more pervasive forms of segregation and exclusion blacks faced.” (Escobedo, 97) In employment opportunities, Mexican Americans were preferred over African Americans. Though people of Mexican descent had the lowest level factory jobs, they were still seen as superior to African Americans who were, “…completely shut out of industrial jobs for much of the twentieth century.” (89) The United States government used the “almost white” legal status of Mexican Americans to their advantage, employing it as a tactic to pit marginalized groups against each other. As minority women joined the workforce in wartime, suddenly anti-Black racism from Mexican Americans could be seen. In 1943, a group of Mexican workers, “…made pointed claims to privileges of ‘whiteness’ by refusing to share facilities and work side by side with African Americans.” (98) With their “whiteness,” Mexican Americans had been given a commonality with white citizens, thus elevating them above the African American population. This legal ploy prevented minority groups from banning together to upset the established hierarchy of race. Instead, it placed groups as enemies through an invented, imbalanced relationship.
Yet, the status of “almost white” did not result in Mexican Americans assimilating with the white culture. In actuality, Mexican American youth responded by “…blatantly rebel[ing] against social conventions.” (18) Though legal “whiteness” placed them above other minorities, second-generation Mexican youth began to understand that they would never be truly seen as a white Americans. Always, there would be things inherently out of their reach. In response to their racial ambiguity in American society, Mexican American youth formed the pachuco identity. Soon young women were altering this image to construct the pachuca image. Through the creation of the pachuca, “…women who wore the zoot style participated in a racialized, collective identity that helped them escape their feelings about being outsiders in the United States by claiming an affirming identity as outsiders in the United States.” (38) Instead of being placed in the role of “other” by the American society, young Mexican American women chose to build their own identity, actively marking themselves as abnormal in the current society. The creation of the pachuca character illustrated an awareness from the Mexican American youth. They recognized the reality of their place in the United States and chose to change it. The second generation of Mexican immigrants understood the complex concept that, “…being American did not necessitate erasure of every semblance of their cultural heritage.” (39) Mexican Americans did not need to assimilate to the white culture to embody the American spirit; rather they could preserve their cultural traditions and choose their own identity for how they wished to be seen.
The United States government employed the legal status of Mexican American citizens’ race for their own advantage. Though the division of minority groups did occur, Mexican American youth resisted conforming to white culture. Instead, the younger generations created the pachuca identity, one that clearly pushed social norms and conventions. Ultimately the new character let the second-generation Mexican Americans escape their position in the nation. The identity gave young Mexican Americans freedom from the indistinctness of their role in the United States, as well as ultimate control over how larger society perceived them.
Thoughts on Histories 