Raoul Contreras lectured Thursday night on the Chicano movement and its context in the political atmosphere of today to an audience of about 45 NIU students at the Holmes Student Center’s Heritage Room.

A professor of Latino Studies at Indiana University Northwest and political activist, Contreras described the movement and its anti-war segment.

He also briefly discussed the possible war on Iraq and its relation to the ideas and values that sparked the Chicano movement originally.

The Omega Delta Fraternity, the Organization of Latin American Students and University Resources for Latinos co-sponsored the lecture.

Contreras began by showing a 12-minute clip of a PBS documentary on the Chicano moratorium in Los Angeles, a one-day, anti-Vietnam War demonstration of about 30,000 Mexicanos and Mexican Americans in 1970.

“The moratorium was monumentally important,” Contreras said, “but it was part of something bigger – the Chicano movement – which was this mass social uprising of Mexicanos and Mexican Americans who realized they wanted to make history.”

A major frustration of the Chicano community at the time was the disproportionate number of deaths among themselves in the Vietnam War. Although Chicanos made only 12 percent of the soldiers, they made up 20 percent of the deaths.

Contreras stressed the importance of the movement many times, saying it was the greatest contribution of Chicanos to America because it made the country more equitable, just and democratic. He also stressed how entire families protested the Vietnam War, bringing a sense of community to the movement.

His message was decidedly negative at times, however.

“Chicanos have been subjugated and oppressed in history by America’s policy of imperialism, and we have to live that legacy today,” he said.

This imperialistic attitude is the cause of the America’s current aggressive stance on Iraq, Contreras said. America wants to defend and expand its empire today just as it did during the Vietnam War, he added.

He encouraged the audience to take a hard stance against the so-called war on terrorism.

Sylvia Fuentes, director of University Resources for Latinos, commented on the implications of the possible war on Iraq after Contreras finished his speech.

“It’s so important to get the message out to students that this war will affect everyone,” she said. “If we don’t oppose it now, we’ll be the ones to go.”

Joe Domagala, a senior history major, was glad he attended the lecture.

“I thought it would be more on Iraq, but all the historical information on the Chicano movement was very interesting.”