Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part one discusses the development of the Mexican-American community of Houston from 1900-1960. This section discusses how Hispanic activists of the day sought to have Hispanics classified as White Americans. Specifically, chapter 1 discusses the Hispanic community prior to World War II, and chapter 2 discusses Mexican children in the schools and how they were affected by educational policies. Chapter 3 discusses efforts from Hispanic individuals to reform the school system. Chapter 4 documents debates on how to reform the education system that took place within the Hispanic community. Part two describes the campaign for the Hispanic community to be recognized as a non-white minority, rather than white, in regards to a Houston Independent School District (HISD) desegregation plan. In its initial 1970 desegregation plan, HISD was trying to "desegregate" by mixing black and Mexican students together while not including Anglo Whites in the desegregation plan, and using the Mexican students' designation as "white" as a workaround. Mexicans responded by launching a strike, or huelga, against HISD. Part three goes into detail regarding movements to classify Mexican-Americans as being a part of the racial minority groups. The book discusses the efforts of the Mexican American Educational Council (MAEC), an organization fighting HISD's original desegregation program, to be recognized by HISD and the court system.

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