This comment is from Ellen Ochoa (Astronaut) "While growing up in Arizona, Joseph felt the sting of rampant discrimination against Hispanics, for example Hispanics were only allowed to use the public pool the day before cleaning because it was felt they dirtied the pool. Though Joseph was bilingual, he spoke English only at home, not wanting to teach his children Spanish, fearing the lash of discrimination he had experienced if they spoke Spanish or spoke English with an accent."

I tried to do some cursory research on the topic so please forgive it's brevity.

In the 1940's, Mexican Americans were overwhelmingly farmers, migrants workers, and laborers. They generally resided in the border states and lived amongst themselves in segregated neighborhoods in major cities or in temporary housing shacks near their work. During the war, the Zoot Suit riots broke out as a result of rising racial and cultural tensions. These factors do not change tremendously going into the 1950's.

Things that do change however are the politicization and cultural movements that start to occur in the 1950s. The Mexican community was generally left-leaning during the age of McCarthy. Mass illegal immigration also took place during the 1950's, stressing racial and national tensions even more. The Chicano movement emerges to unify their cultural identity. Labor movements also emerge to combat the poor pay and hostile working environments. The collective effort of these movements establish Mexican Americans as a relevant and powerful minority heading into the 1960's with figures such as Cesar Chavez.