THE CHICANO EXPERIENCE WITH NATIVISM IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.

Under provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, various programs to improve the socioeconomic status of minorities have been implemented over the past decade. In the public sector, the legitimacy and effectiveness of these programs have been seriously questioned by minority communities, as well as by civil rights leaders. This concern has been reinforced by government publications studying these quality of life and related administrative issues. The problem of excluding minorities from responsible government jobs and from participating in the policy-making process is far from being resolved, especially as it affects the Chicanos. The Spanish-surname minority group is the second largest minority in the U.S., but has been perceived by some as a non-minority, or as an invisible minority. This article identifies certain underlying mechanisms existing in public institutions which selectively exclude Chicanos from participating in policy making and rendering services to the public. The concept of nativism has been identified as the underlying concept existing in public institutions, which excludes Chicanos in contemporary society. The major areas of this article included, wherever possible, examples of how nativism has been institutionalized in the personnel process, especially as it relates to the Chicano experience.