Synopses & Reviews
George I. Sand#225;nchez was a reformer, activist, and intellectual, and one of the most influential members of the "Mexican American Generation" (1930and#8211;1960). A professor of education at the University of Texas from the beginning of World War II until the early 1970s, Sand#225;nchez was an outspoken proponent of integration and assimilation. He spent his life combating racial prejudice while working with such organizations as the ACLU and LULAC in the fight to improve educational and political opportunities for Mexican Americans. Yet his fervor was not always appreciated by those for whom he advocated, and some of his more unpopular stands made him a polarizing figure within the Latino community.
Carlos Blanton has published the first biography of this complex man of notable contradictions. The author honors Sand#225;nchezand#8217;s efforts, hitherto mostly unrecognized, in the struggle for equal opportunity, while not shying away from his subjectand#8217;s personal faults and foibles. The result is a long-overdue portrait of a towering figure in mid-twentieth-century America and the all-important cause to which he dedicated his life: Mexican American integration.
Review
"Nobody has written a biography or sustained study of Sand#225;nchez or treated the struggles with which he was involved with the depth and sophistication that Blanton promises."and#8212;Ben Johnson, Southern Methodist University
Review
"This book will help broaden our understanding of American civil rights history and the role and contributions of Mexican Americans to that history."and#8212;Mario Garcia, University of California, Santa Barbara
About the Author
Carlos Kevin Blanton is associate professor of history at Texas AandM University.