When radical Latino activists occupied churches
Felipe Hinojosa profiles resistance movements from the late 1960s and early 1970s, when religion and politics were inextricably linked.
In Review
Apostles of Change
Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio
We remember the 1960s and early 1970s as a time of rapid social change, unbounded optimism, and passionate activism. But some stories from that time are in danger of being forgotten. In this comprehensive but concise study, historian Felipe Hinojosa zooms in on radical, Latina/o political and social movements in four major US cities that included occupations of churches between 1969 and 1970.
These activists were inspired by Latin American liberation theology to resist racism, the intentional displacement of city dwellers living in poverty, police brutality, and other injustices. “Seeing these young radicals serve breakfast inside the church, cite Bible verses, and proclaim that the church belongs to the people,” writes Hinojosa in the book’s introduction, “shocked and motivated religious leaders to take action at some of the most iconic and historic institutions in the country: the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches.”
Through his profiles of resistance movements in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Houston, Hinojosa seeks to show that religion and politics were inextricably linked:
