To this day, Reies Lopez Tijerina is still best known for organizing the armed raid on the Tierra Amarilla courthouse in New Mexico in 1967. For many, it was his efforts in this movement that made him into one of the core Chicano civil rights movement leaders. Tijerina, known for his charisma, strong convictions, and great public speaking skills, used his talents to learn and bring attention to the injustices associated with the land grants. It was his commitment to the movement that inspired him to talk about the issues on his radio program called “The Voice of Justice”. He spread his knowledge with his strong command of words and, he ultimately inspired others to listen and to follow his leadership. Reies Lopez Tijerina, ended up not only inspiring his community to listen but the entire nation as well. Today, he remains an important figure in Chicano history despite the fact that his name is sometimes met with different reactions. Many simply don’t know …show more content…
As it is known, it was an armed raid and some were injured. Many attribute this violence to Tigerina’s forceful and “at all costs” mentality, which is something many don’t agree with. Not everyone agrees that violence should be an answer to things but Tijerina had a similar mentality to Malcolm X. Tijerina is often called the Malcolm X of the Chicano civil rights movement for this and for many other reasons. However, the similarity can readily be seen when thinking of Malcolm X’s most notably used quote “by any means necessary” which summarizes Tijerina’s thoughts as well. However, whether Tijerina took the right approach or not that will never be certain. His name and his legacy will continue to be controversial and met with criticism by some. Regardless, he was a man of action and he left much more to talk about besides the courthouse