Camp Chicano: The racialization of the great outdoors in the Civilian Conservation Corps

This essay explores the racialization of space in Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps related to the participation of Chicano youth. Under the supervision of the US Army, three million young men were recruited to work in camps in the United States. Leadership positions were reserved for white lieutenants and reservists. Menial jobs such as cooking and cleaning were given to Black enrollees. Native Americans were segregated in camps run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As neither Black nor white, Chicanos were afforded certain benefits while at the same time suffered under the same discrimination that Black enrollees faced. Thus, Chicano racialization as nonwhite US citizens shaped spaces where they were permitted to work, sleep, and eat. Social spaces were the arenas and political terrains that enrollees entered into based on racial and ethnic labels.