Chicano communists and the struggle for social justice /

Buelna (Cabrillo College) covers the Communist Party (CP) as well as social issues within the Mexican American community of Los Angeles centered on activist Ralph Cuarón between the 1940s and 1970s. Throughout this viable and well-presented book, Buelna encapsulates the struggles Cuarón encountered within the CP and with labor, community activities, and especially discrimination against Mexican Americans. Buelna could have told this general story without Cuarón as the main character, and this is certainly not a biography. But Cuarón's activism brings the struggle alive! Cuarón fought for social justice and mentored a community of Chicano/a activists from his family's home on Princeton Street in East Los Angeles, along with his wife, Sylvia. This well-research study is somewhat biased in favor of the communists and activists, but this does not detract from its value. In this case the bias, intentional or not, enhances the objective. Buelna's book adds another layer to our understanding of American communism at mid-century, as well as the labor fight, community, and race. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Raymond Douglas Screws, Arkansas National Guard Museum