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Courting Success and Realizing the American Dream: Arizona's Mighty Miami High School Championship Basketball Team, 1951

2009; Routledge; Volume: 26; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09523360902826962

1743-9035

Christine Marín,

Race, History, and American Society

The second generation of Mexican-Americans, the 'GI Generation' born and raised in the United States, experienced the Great Depression and the Second World War and became political and community leaders in the post-war periods. Historians have not expanded their work to include the history and experience of the third generation, their children. This essay bridges that gap by using sports as a symbol of the American dream. It examines the period from 1947 to 1951 to explain how Mexican-American youths and their Finnish-American coach in Miami, Arizona, promoted Americanization, achieved success and won the 1951 state basketball championship. They revitalized a hometown's pride and team spirit and united a copper community that had a chequered and disturbing history of racism and discrimination against Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. The rise of this third generation through sports enabled their families to realize their dreams of equality for their children.