This manifesto, as the co-authors describe it, recounts the history of Chicanos through the eyes of the people themselves. La Raza, meaning "the race," refers to people of both Indian and Spanish descent. Chapters cover a span of history from the time of la Raza's Indio ancestors all the way to the 1970's when youth were organizing community and responding to discrimination in their own lives.

Two activists in the Chicano movement discuss the history and ambitions of the Chicano people land the prejudices and injustices suffered by them.