The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics. By Kenneth C. Burt The ever-changing state of Latino politics in California continues to draw attention from academics, journalists, and political leaders. With the dramatic expansion of potential Latino voters in the 1990s—not only from Mexico but also from El Salvador and other nations in Central and South America—the numbers that register and turn out at the polls has become a major issue.

The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics advances the thesis that Latino involvement in electoral politics occurred much earlier than is commonly understood and was achieved by mobilizing voters and developing coalitions. It reflects an understanding that in California, as in other states like Texas, Latinos, in the words of Mario T. García, “viewed the attainment of effective political representation as the first step in equalizing their status with Anglos.” To fill important gaps in the state’s historical record, the book addresses three essential questions: 1) How did modern Latino electoral politics begin and who and what groups played major roles? 2) What are the lessons learned from the early ventures and what is the legacy of these political pioneers? 3) What is the state of California politics today and how was it shaped by these earlier forces?

The answers to these questions emerge in a narrative technique, combined with analysis, to capture the historical record. This account is based on two hundred oral histories, extensive archival research, and academic literature drawn from the fields of Chicano Studies, History, Political Science, Labor Studies, and Religious Studies. The unique lens used to survey the cultural-political landscape reflects this author’s career in politics as a participant-observer in the tradition of Ernesto Galarza and Carey McWilliams.

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