A pioneering political and intellectual history of the Chicano leaders who emerged from the barrios of the Southwest between 1930 and 1960-Ignacio L. López, George I. Sanchez, Josefina Fierro de Bright, and others-and of their effort to capture first-class citizenship for Mexican Americans. Drawing extensively on archival material and oral history, Mario T. García discusses the key figures, organizations, and issues of the movement; in so doing he casts new light not only on Chicano history but also on the histories of American ethnicity and civil rights movements.