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Last updateFri, 04 Nov 2016 12pm

Mexicans at depression’s edge of the US Great Plains Vs. a government ripe to repatriate them, legal or not, find shocking high school allies

The Great Depression meant dislocation – along with brutal job and food shortages – not only for Americans but also for thousands of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in the United States. 

As unemployment swung across the United States, Mexicans were seen as occupying hard-to-find jobs “belonging” to “real” Americans. As a consequence, the widespread prejudice often at play, became sharply apparent. Ripe rough bigotry, openly rampant before everyone.  In North Platte, Nebraska, where the town’s modest Catholic population easily displayed itself, we high-schoolers had only one male and a handful of female Mexican students.  Prejudice, usually only slyly present became obvious.  On our football team the presence of a single Mexican player became vigorously apparent.  As a youngster of previously slight size, Jose Flores had to take shavings of this racial hassle.  Now his presence at right end was scrambled with his quickening teen-age growth.  Abruptly tall, and obviously heavier and  more important – stronger than most fellow players, his presence was unavoidable.  To the sudden pleasure of our coach, Jose suddenly was making slamming tackles that stunned some opponent teams.  

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