DVDS

Willie Velasquez: Your Vote Is Your Voice

55 min. PBS. 2016. $24.99. ISBN 9781627899123.
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Gr 6 Up—A compelling documentary focusing on William (Willie) Velasquez (1944–88), social activist and founder of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. It chronicles his role as a door-to-door organizer for the Latinx community in its struggle to gain basic human rights and a political voice and his posthumous receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995. Interviews, photos, and video footage weave together the historical threads of the oppression and violence to which Mexican Americans have been subjected, with a depth generally absent from middle and high school materials. The effects of Velasquez's dedication to his community base can be seen in national politics today.
VERDICT This captivating film introduces students to the reality of the underbelly of U.S. politics as experienced by Latinxs over time and promotes critical thinking and inquiry about past and present forms of gerrymandering and oppression.
Reviewed by Ruth E. Quiroa, National Louis University, Lisle, ILProfessional viewing , Apr 01, 2017

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