"To Secure These Rights": The Campaign to End School Segregation and Promote Civil Rights in Arizona in the 1950s

During the 1950s Mexican Americans in Tucson participated in civil rights campaigns as members of organizations such as the Alianza Hispano Americana Civic Unity, and Tucson Council for Civic Unity. Their goal was to end school segregation laws and to pass legislation abolishing segregation in public accommodations and facilities. Mexican American civil rights leaders and their allies in Tucson worked with an interracial coalition of civic-minded activists to promote civil rights for all Arizonans in the post-World War II era. This article contributes to our understanding of civil rights activism by Mexican Americans in Tucson and their role in advancing the larger anti-segregation and civil rights movements in Arizona and the Southwest.