Today they represent a virtually uhknown factor to national decisionmakers and social scientists. I have -noted that in Washington. New York. and other places far removed from the Southwest. the term "Mexican" often evokes the image of a Mexican contract laborer. The Mexican population of the Southwest. long an integral part of America. is little known on the east coast and not much better understood in the Southwest itself. Books in the public libraries and the texts used in classrooms tell the casual reader that Mexicans are a rural. romantic people. when they are. in fact. about as highly urbanized as the rest of our population. For years MexicanAmerican scholars have tried to change the image of the MexicanAmerican. to prove to the larger society that the MexicanAmerican people. like many immigrant groups. are part. of the American social drama and that they. the MexicanAmericans. are also here to~stay. Unfortunately. these sporadic and usually local research efforts were not sufficient. and they did little toalleviate the grievances of the Mexican community. Systematic. reliable. and comprehensive information was rarely found..
Identified stereotypes
Generalizing about the image of Mexicans as rural and romantic.