Bradford Luckingham - Minorities in Phoenix: A Profile of Mexican American, Chinese American, and African American Communities, 1860-1992

In 1990, Phoenix ranked as the ninth largest city in the United States. Historically,thepopulationof the Arizona capital has been largely Anglo, with small groupsofpeopleof color making up the difference. In the early years of the city's history,Mexicansaccountedfor half the population, but they quickly lost ground to Anglos,whoprogressivelyoutnumbered them. During most of the twentieth century, Mexicansremainedthelargest minority group in Phoenix, making up about 15 percent of thetotalpopulation;blacks continued to make up about 5 percent; and Chinese, about1percent.In recent years each group has experienced a surge in numbers, gaininginrepresentationbut remaining small within the total population (see

The struggle has not been unique to Phoenix. Although the experience differed fromregion to region, from city to city, it always involved struggle. Historians rightlypoint out that the struggle has been heroic as well as tragic. Variations in thelevel of racism and responses to it over time and place are evident. All types ofconditions existed: Mexican Americans seemed better off in Tucson than in Phoenix;Chinese Americans seemed worse off in Los Angeles than in Phoenix; African Americansseemed better off in Seattle than in Phoenix; and so on. The responses to racismby various groups also differed. Minority group populations varied in size and minoritygroup problems varied in intensity from city to city, but they did exist, and minoritygroup leaders and members acted in positive ways rather than as passive victims ofnegative racial attitudes and actions. They created viable communities and they workeddiligently to shape their own lives despite the barriers of prejudice and exploitation.They actively fought segregation, discrimination, and oppression at whatever levelthey existed. Over time, the struggle for equity bore fruit and many succeeded inachieving their goals. Struggle proved integral to the total experience of minoritygroup members in the urban West; for many of them, the struggle goes on.

Table 1.1 Phoenix Population Statistics, 18701990

SOURCE: U.S. Census of Population, 1870-1990.

From the beginning, the struggle existed. During the Spanish and Mexican periods,Anglo Americans began to enter the towns of present-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,and California. During and after the Mexican War of conquest, Anglos increasinglyfound their way to the towns, fast becoming the urban centers of the American Southwest.They joined local Mexicans in the further development of Santa Fe, Albuquerque,Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities. With the coming of the railroads,the relationship between the two groups deteriorated. More Anglos than Mexicansarrived and Anglo population gains increased. As the oasis towns developed duringthe late nineteenth cen tury, they became more attractive to Anglo elements, andas Anglos assumed power in the regional centers of the Southwest, they utilizedthe Mexican population to help them realize their goals, including economic growth,political control, and social and cultural prominence. Having achieved a dominantposition in each community, the Anglos acquired more wealth, influence, and prestige,and from these positions of strength dictated the terms of the ethnic arrangement,which invariably found the majority of Mexicans and Mexican Americans living on the"wrong side of the tracks." For them, upward mobility proved elusive and povertyremained a problem. Although their situation was bleak north of the border, Mexicanskept coming because it usually meant economic improvement over what was availablein Mexico; indeed, during the years 1900 to 1930the migration eramore than a millionMexicans moved into the American West, many of them to the emerging cities.