Answer Close-Reading Questions
Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.
• Use text evidence to explain how the Great Depression made the inequalities that Mexican Americans endured worse. (Skill: Text Evidence) During the Great Depression, Mexican Americans were wrongly blamed for taking jobs from White Americans. As a result, they faced anger, threats, and violence. Also, they often did not receive government aid. The text states, “. . . federal programs were set up to help provide struggling Americans with money, food, and even jobs. But people of Mexican descent were often denied access.”
• Identify three events from the article that prove Emma Tenayuca’s statement: “I never thought in terms of fear . . . I thought in terms of justice.” (Skill: Supporting Claims with Evidence) In 1934, Emma Tenayuca joined a picket line to support workers’ rights even though a sheriff had warned that he might use force against the protesters. In 1935, she …