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The Black Power and Chicano Movements in the Poverty Wars in Los Angeles

Washington State University Tri-Cities

This article explores three distinct community action agencies (CAAs) created as part of the War on Poverty in Los Angeles and their connection to movements for cultural and economic empowerment. The city’s "official" War on Poverty agency eventually collapsed under the weight of intransigence by city officials, differences among black leaders and civil rights activists, and divisions between blacks and Latinos in part fueled by the Black Power and Chicano movements. Meanwhile, African Americans and Latinos used the inspiration of those movements and the support of labor unions to establish separate CAAs outside of the domain of the "official" War on Poverty agency. Those ethnically distinct "community unions" provided a sense of racial/ethnic/cultural pride and solidarity for Latino and African American neighborhoods and communities in Los Angeles. This article demonstrates how the shifting boundaries of race shaped the development of the War on Poverty in Los Angeles and that the War on Poverty encouraged movements for cultural and economic empowerment.

Key Words: Los Angeles • War on Poverty • Chicano movement • Black Power movement • Watts

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