Past Presidents

"Introduction"

The founding of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) marked an important moment in the history of Hispanic people in the United States. It signaled the end of one era and the beginning of another. It embodied the will of a people to overcome inequality, discrimination and injustice, to claim their rights as U. S. citizens, and to access the American dream.

To the Hispanic, it was a soul-wrenching demand upon a people who had come to the New World to implant their culture and had stubbornly clung to their language and traditions. The LULAC founders felt that the times demanded that Hispanics in the United States make a total commitment to their new homeland, however unwillingly they may have been incorporated by conquest, economic need or political exile. To the Anglo, LULAC's simple proclamation had the symbolic force of planting a flag on ground that had not been conceded.

When the United States of North America annexed one-third of Mexico's territory following the Mexican War, there were 77,000 Mexican citizens living in the conquered lands. These persons were given the option of accepting full U. S. citizenship or returning to Mexico. Hispanic civilization had been in conquered territory for 250 years when the Anglo took over. Most of these conquered people chose to stay in the lands they had settled and, in many cases, raised generations of family. But though the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said they were citizens of the United States of North America, their conquerors had not accepted that reality.

The ink was hardly dry on the treaty when the Anglo began to deny the Mexican Americans their rights as citizens. Their lands were taken away; they were stripped of political power; they were isolated from the larger community; their culture was disparaged; their role in history was erased; they were relentlessly attacked physically and demoralized.

Passing decades did not diminished the prejudice. Instead, the feeling that Mexican were an alien presence intensified when irrigated farming, railroad building and mining began to pull large number of workers across the border and the bloodiest civil war in the hemisphere began to expel refugees from Mexico into the United States of North America.

By claiming citizenship for themselves and, by extension, for all Mexican American people, the founders of LULAC were challenging the prevailing view and serving notice that they would be laying claim to all the rights and privileges due U. S. citizens. Furthermore, they were immediately exercising one of those sacred rights, the right to organize, and utilizing it for the benefit of their people.

The portent of that action was not lost on the majority. It signaled that Hispanics in the U. S. had advanced beyond the elemental struggle for survival that had exhausted their energies for so many decades. Implicit in this advance was a modicum of economic success that permitted the members of LULAC to turn their attention from the single-minded pursuit of personal need to the needs of their people as a society. Organization also indicated to the Anglo majority that the Mexican American would no longer be easy to manipulate.

At the same time, LULAC was confronting the identity crisis of Mexican Americans. Denied the security of belonging that comes from acceptance, they did not consider themselves Americans. In some sections of the Southwest, they still saw themselves as Mexicans, in others , they called themselves Hispanos.

As a people apart, Mexican Americans had institutions modeled upon indigenous culture. Hispanic civic organizations dated back to 1894 when La Alianza Hispano Americana was founded. La Sociedad Progresista Mexicana y Recreativa, La Camara de Comercio Mexicana, and La Sociedad Mutualista Mexicana were organized around 1924. There were also hundreds of Catholic organizations that were founded in the early part of the 20th century. As their Spanish names imply, these organizations linked the Mexican American to Mexico. LULAC proposed to change all that. The League of United Latin American Citizens was modeled on U. S. civic organizations, in many ways similar to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded in 1910, and had also been likened to the Lions, Elks and Kiwanis clubs. To the U. S. Hispanic citizen, LULAC served notice that it was time to stop gazing nostalgically to Mexico or Spain and clinging to the mentality of isolation in colonias. LULAC announced that it was time to establish roots in the United States and venture forth to mix with the dominant society in all aspects of life.

Hispanic were just emerging from their darkest epoch when LULAC was founded. Survival itself was in question. More Mexicans were lynched in the Southwest between 1865 and 1920 than Blacks in other parts of the South and cases of Mexicans being brutally assaulted and murdered were widespread. No jury would convict an Anglo for killing a Mexican. One famous Anglo gunfighter when asked how many men he had killed responded, "Each notch on the handles of my guns represent one kill and I have twenty-seven notches, not counting Mexicans." Discrimination did not know an age limit. In one incident a 14-year Mexican American girl choked to death while eating a dry tortilla because her peers were not allowed to get her a drink from a "white only" water fountain.

"No Mexicans Allowed" and "No Mexicans Served Here" were commonplace signs. There were Black and White schools, that were supposed to be separate but equal, and there were also Mexican schools, for which there were never even a pretense of equality.

Mexican Americans were denied the right of suffrage through the creation of a white primary. Since Mexican Americans were not considered white, they were turned away from the voting polls. Mexican Americans were not permitted to buy real estate in certain residential sections or allowed to serve on juries.

There was also economic discrimination. Mexican American, if hired at all, were relegated to the lowest jobs and received lower wages for the same work done by Anglos. There were never any Mexican Americans in office or management positions.

Mexican Americans suffered the stereotype mentality that all were lazy, poorly dressed, dirty, ill educated, and thieves. This was the excuse used to deny them jobs. In the end, most Mexican American families worked in the fields, farms, and ranches. Most of their children never had an opportunity to attend school. The few that did attend school went to Mexican Schools that had the worse teachers and the buildings that were in deplorable conditions. There were no laws protecting Mexican Americans that were farm workers. Mexican Americans who went on strike were unceremoniously taken across the border without any fear of retribution.

Despite the widespread murder, repression, intimidation, and prejudice, there were areas along the border where Mexican Americans were able to build a strong tradition of self-determination, acquire education, and experience success in business. It was in San Antonio, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Laredo, El Paso, and similar places that stirrings began to occur early in the 1920s. Almost spontaneously, leaders began talking about the need to organize.

In 1921, Mexican Americans demanded placement on jury rosters by filing several lawsuits. In addition, in this year courageous Mexican Americans started organizing in Texas and demanding that juries reflected the composition of the population.

The foundation of LULAC was started by three outstanding organizations of the day. The Knights of America, Council number 4 of the Order of the Sons of America, and the League of Latin American Citizens.

The Knights of America organized in 1921, in San Antonio, Texas, was the oldest of the three and had been founded by Frank Leyton, Melchor Leyton, Pablo Cruz, Abraham Armendariz, Merci Montez, Leo Longoria, Vicente Rocha and John Solis. The Knights of America had done much for its community, was under the leadership of M. C. Gonzalez.

The Order of the Sons of America, the second oldest had councils in Sommerset, Pearsall, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio, was under the leadership of a gentleman from San Antonio. However, it was council number 4 from Corpus Christi, founded by Louis Wilmot, Joe Stillman, Dave Barrera, Al Cano, and Desi Luna, and led by Ben Garza, that was the main uniting force for a merger.

The League of Latin American Citizens, the youngest and the most progressive, founded by professor Luz Saenz, Pablo Gonzales, Filiberto Galvan, and under the outstanding leadership of Attorney Alonso S. Perales, had councils in Alice, Austin, Brownsville, Encino, Harlingen, La Grulla, Laredo, McAllen, Penitas, and Robstown. This new and young organization had done just as well, and in some instances better, and was growing at a much faster pace than the other two combined. This organization counted among its members such leaders as J. T. Canales and Clemente Idar, a brilliant orator that was a national organizer for the American Federation of Labor.

Council number 4 of The Order of the Sons of America was concerned that to many organizations were been formed and it seemed to them to be a step toward possible division and weakness. Ben Garza and his council called a meeting attended by M. C. Gonzales, Mauro Machado and John Solis of the Knights of American and Alonso S. Perales, Luz Saenz and Felipe Herrera from the League of Latin American Citizens.

These groups followed the the same principles and purposes, it was perhaps natural that they would eventually attempt to unite. The inevitable happened at Harlingen in 1927.

The League of Latin American Citizens invited the Order of the Sons of America and to the Knights of America to attend an upcoming event in Harlingen. On August 14, 1927 both organizations traveled to Harlingen for the installation of officers for the League of Latin American Citizens. After the installation ceremony a special meeting was called and the President General of The Order of the Sons of America invited The League of Latin American Citizens to unite with them. During the meeting one incident was perhaps of more long term historical significance. At one point during this meeting, J. T. Canales proposed that if a merger did come about and a new organization was formed that it be composed only of U. S. citizens. Since the majority of those at this meeting were Mexican citizens, there was a strong protest and more than 90% of those in attendance walked out of the meeting, leaving only a few members and visitors. The three organizations could not immediately agree on a merger without first meeting with their respective members, but a tentative step was taken with the following resolution, adopted at the Harlingen meeting.

Resolution

"Resolved that the chair shall appoint a committee consisting of one delegate from each town here represented, of which the chair shall be the chairman, and that this committee shall have full and plenary powers from this assembly to study the constitution and by-laws of The Order of the Sons of America and make suggestions tending toward their amendment, if they see fit to amend their constitution, and communicate with a committee from the Order of the Sons of America with equal powers, to the end that this organization (the League) may be incorporated into the Order of the Sons of America."

A year later, on August 4, 1928, leaders pushing to unite the various groups issued a proclamation urging all Latin American civic organizations to merge into one. The committee named to bring about the merger consisted of Ben Garza, A. de Luna and E. H. Martin from Corpus Christi, John Solis and Mauro Machado from San Antonio, and Alonso S. Perales and J. T. Canales from Harlingen.

There were serious doubts as to merger because of strong personality differences that existed between the leaders of The League of Latin American Citizens and The Order of the Sons of America. With this in mind, The Order of the Sons of America and The Knights of America agreed to unite even if The League of Latin American Citizens did not. A year passed without a merging effort. In the meantime, Alonso S. Perales was in constant contact with Ben Garza. Finally, on February 7, 1929, Council #4 withdrew from The Order of the Sons of America when it became clear that its President General would not call the long awaited unification convention. At this meeting, with Alonso S. Perales in attendance as a guest, Council #4 voted to have and to host a uniting convention. The date set was February 17, 1929, at the Obreros Hall, on the corner of Lipan and Carrizo streets in Corpus Christi. Two long years had come and gone since the first merger attempt and now it was about to take place.

February 17, 1929, was cold and rainy as delegates and other guests entered Obreros Hall in Corpus Christi, Texas, to start the meeting. Besides the Corpus Christi Son of the Order of the Sons of America, there delegates from the Knights of America from San Antonio and the League of Latin America Citizens from the Rio Grande Valley. In all, there were 25 delegates and 125 Mexican American observers present. Deliberations were conducted in both English and Spanish.

The first order of business was to elect a temporary executive committee. Elected to this committee was Ben Garza as chairperson, M. C. Gonzalez as secretary, and J. T. Canales and J. Luz Saenz as members.

It was not a foregone conclusion that history would be made on this day. Not everyone was anxious to create one organization out of the three groups. Problems stemmed from the inherent reasons why more than one organization was established in the first place. Another problem was the name of the proposed new organization. The group from Corpus Christi wanted a short new name but the members of the League of Latin American Citizens were loathe to surrender what they thought was an aptly descriptive title. However, the strong urge to merge resurfaced after strong moving speeches from Alonso S. Perales, M. C. Gonzalez and Ben Garza.

Finally, a resolution, as follows, establishing the new organization was drafted:

"WHEREAS, for many months of untiring efforts a group of citizens of the City of Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas, and former members of Council number 4 of the Order of the Son of America have struggled along using their best means of friendship and accord to unite into solid and great organization two other organizations (The Knights of America of San Antonio and the League of Latin American Citizens, of the Rio Grande Valley) that by principle were pursuing the same identical ideals.

WHEREAS, this group of members had the only thought in mind to render the best undivided help to our brethren throughout the great states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California and knowing aforehand that neither one of these organizations alone, single-handed and divided, could render such help, then,

IT IS RESOLVED by this group of citizens of Corpus Christi, and former members of Council number 4, of the Order of the Son of America, to issue a call to all these organizations and to use their best efforts to bring about the merging of the three organizations into one, and on the 17th day of February, A. D. 1929 that long expected reunion was accomplished."

The second order of business was to form an Organizational Committee with delegates from each organization - Juan Solis and Mauro Machado of The Knights of America, E.N. Marin, A. DeLuna, and Fortunio Trevino of the former Council #4 of The Order of the Sons of America, and Alonso S. Perales and J. T. Canales of The League of Latin American Citizens.

The committee went in to adopt a set of temporary rules. These rules called for a Constitutional Convention for May 18-19, 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas and for the Executive Committee to administer LULAC until the constitutional. The committee was also given the task of recommending a temporary name of the new organization. This was a very delicate task since each organization had a proud history, a strong constitution, a solid structure, and strong leadership. The committee

Alonso S. Perales propose the name "Latin American Citizens' League." Mauro Machado suggested the word "United" as apropos for the merger and as a way of differentiating the title from "The League of Latin American Citizens" name. Juan Solis made a motion that the name read "United Latin American Citizens." J. T. Canales made a friendly amendment to the motion that the name read "League of United Latin American Citizens" (LULAC). Juan Solis accepted the friendly amendment. The committee went on to adopt a motto. J.T. Canales proposed, "All for One and One for All," as a constant reminder of the trials of unification and as basis for all future activities of LULAC.

After a four hour meeting, the committee presented its recommendations to the delegates. The delegates approved all the recommendations.

Three months later (May 18, 1929 - Sunday), the first LULAC convention was held at Allende Hall in Corpus Christi. This was not a good day for a convention. The rain was filling the dirt streets, however; the task was great and the mud splashing on their shoes was of little concern to the delegates. A convention that would solidify the merge that had occurred three months earlier was about to begin. Ben Garza, called the first LULAC Convention to order.

The first order of business was a constitution. The assembly promptly adopted one proposed by J. T. Canales and based upon the one used by The Knights of America. Added were nine articles, the first that established the official name of the new organization as the "League of United Latin American Citizens." The constitution gave governing powers to a Supreme Council consisting of two members and two alternates from each council. Officers and members were required to accept an oath stating they would "be loyal to the Constitution and to the government of the United States of North America, and would obey its laws." Membership was restricted to native born or naturalized citizens of Latin extraction 18 years of age, although Anglos were later admitted. The constitution opened honorary membership to persons of distinction and those that had given distinguished service to LULAC. English was declared the official language of LULAC. The American Flag became its official flag and American,The Beautiful its official song, and The George Washington's Prayer its official prayer. Also, adopted were Robert Rules of Order as the governing rules during meetings and conventions. The Aims and Purposes of LULAC embodied in 25 statements were also adopted. All other matters that had been approved as temporary at the February 17, 1929 Organizational Convention were given the final seal of approval. All local councils of the merging organizations were recognized and Corpus Christi for its efforts in behalf of the merger, was given the honor of being Council number 1. The next order of business was the election of officers.

The delegates, pleased with the calmness of Ben Garza and with the outstanding efforts that he had given to the merging efforts, elected him the first President General of LULAC. Manuel C. Gonzales became Vice President General, A. DeLuna, Secretary General, and Louis C. Wilmot, Treasurer General. These officers undertook the thankless job of guiding a new and young organization besieged by many enemies and skeptical friends and facing a future beset by pitfalls.

The three organizations that merged into LULAC were by not the only Mexican American organizations of that era. Many wanted to revolt and regain the territories lost to the United States by Mexico after the Mexico-Texas war. Others wanted to continue to defy the authority of the dominating population. In those days, Mexican Americans had to be very careful when they gathered. If they gathered in large numbers, they would cause suspicions and faced charges of communism. Many in the Hispanic communities felt insulted and considered LULAC members a group of "vendidos" (turncoats). They could not understand why LULAC members would go out of their way to embrace an Anglo society that had been so cruel to Mexican Americans. However, the founders of LULAC had seen many Mexican American organizations flourish and disappear within a couple of years, and without accomplishments. The founders of LULAC were determined not to allow the same to occur to LULAC. Therefore, these founders forwent many of their convictions to avoid suspicions of un-American activities and to create a safe haven for its members.

The founders of LULAC envisioned an organization strongly embraced by Mexican Americans throughout Texas. In this belief, they were right! Four new councils had joined LULAC at its first convention. They were from Alice, Robstown, Falfurrias and Edinburg. However, what followed caught LULAC leaders by surprise and almost unprepared.

Word of the new organization spread rapidly and at the first first convention there were visitors from Floresville, Sugarland Gulf, Mission and Laredo. A banquet was held on the first evening of the convention and the City Attorney of Corpus Christi, the District Attorney of Nueces County, and the Secretary of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce addressed the delegates.

By 1932, LULAC had spread into the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and California. That LULAC would be one day established in 48 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico and in Heidelburg, West Germany (a military base) was probably far from the minds of these founders on that rainy Sunday of May 18, 1929.

Denoted by the Philosophy of LULAC is the fact that the founders' intention was the inclusion of all Hispanics and not just Mexican Americans.

For the early LULAC members, the battle had just begun. Anglos did not look kindly upon Mexican Americans trying to improve their education. LULAC members were harassed and ostracized in many ways. Many were hounded out of their jobs and businesses for joining the League.

A "Flying Squad" was organized to recruit members and establish new councils. Groups of dedicated members traveled the state of Texas in their personal cars on weekends. They had no funding for gas, food, lodging, auto repairs and air conditioning. Strengthening and organizing the League was a labor of love and sacrifice. Members of the Flying Squad spent almost every weekend away from their families, slept in their cars, took bread and made sandwiches on the way, borrowed money to pay for gas, and washed in puddles on the side of the road. LULAC organizers were barred from entering towns and run out if they entered. In one incident, an organizer from Houston, Texas, who would become a LULAC National President, dressed as a woman in order to pass through a sheriff's blockade setup to keep him from entering the City of Richmond, Texas, to organize a LULAC council. In another incident. members of a flying squad on travel could not get hamburgers because they were Mexican and not Black.

Organizing was made difficult by the requirement that members be citizens. Potential members often had parents that were not citizens and hesitated to join an organization that made this distinction. There was also fear of joining an organization that was out beating the bushes and confronting authorities.

Problems were encountered throughout the Southwest. New LULAC members were intimidated by the Anglo establishment. They were accused of being subversives, communists, agitators, and rabble rousers. A LULAC member form Houston, that would become the INS Commissioner under the Jimmy Carter Administration, recalls his council being arrested and jailed under the suspicion of being communist activities. Another, incident occurred when a Past National Vice President, also from Houston, who had singlehanded defeated the English Only movement in Texas, was ordered by his supervisor to resign from LULAC or lose his job. This LULAC member filed a lawsuit against this supervisor, against the federal contracting company and the President of the United States and won the case.

Anglo opposition to LULAC organizing efforts continued unchecked for 20 years after the organization was founded. Not even service above and beyond the call of duty removed the Anglo's prejudice. A World War II Medal of Honor winner was severely beaten in Richmond, Texas, because he asked for service in a restaurant. Even the Mexican Consul was refused service in one of the fine restaurants in Houston.

Many early members were scared out of the League. Others left because they could not stand the confrontations, the suspicions, and the accusations that they were not loyal Americans.

Over the last 70 years, LULAC has continued to grow and work hard to bring about many of the positive social, economic and political changes that Hispanic Americans enjoy today. No other Hispanic civil rights organization, with an all volunteer membership base can match LULAC's record of achievements and services to Hispanic Americans.

Today, LULAC represents not only Mexicans Americans from the Southwest, it also represents Hispanics in most of the United States, including Puerto Rico and Guam. Membership has expanded to include all men and women of Hispanic origin that are legal residents of the United States or its territorial areas.

LULAC is the cornerstone of some of the most successful Hispanic national organizations. LULAC formed The American GI Forum (AGIF) to address the rights of Hispanic veterans. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) as the legal arm of the Hispanic community. SER - Jobs for Progress, Inc., has trained, and retrained, and found jobs for thousands of Hispanic Americans. In addition, LULAC has developed thousands of low income housing units through the Southwest.

The Little School of the 400 became the model for the very successful Project Headstart. the LULAC National Education Service Centers (LNESC) and the LULAC National Scholarship Fund (LNSF) have provided educational advise, tutoring, mentoring, and millions of dollars in scholarship funds.

LULAC has become an important influence in national policy making with a permanent national office in Washington, D. C. While the many successes of LULAC should be celebrated, its work is far from over.

LULAC continues to work for the betterment of Hispanic Americans. It continues to fight discrimination, poverty, educational inequalities, disparities in political representation, the Hispanic student high dropout rate, immigration issues, language issues, Hispanic health issues, etc. LULAC will forever address those issues that impact the lives and future of all Hispanic Americans. It will continue to work to assure that future Hispanic American generations receive all the constitutional rights inherit by them as citizens of the United States of North America.

In 1945, a California LULAC Council successfully sued to integrate the Orange County School System, segregated based on the notion that Mexican children were "more poorly clothed and mentally inferior to white children."

Additionally, in 1954, LULAC brought another landmark case, Hernandez vs. the State of Texas, to protest that not a single Mexican American in Texas had ever served on jury duty. The Supreme Court ruled this exclusion unconstitutional.

Since that time, LULAC has fought for voting rights and full access to the political process, and equal educational opportunity for Hispanic children. The struggle has been long and difficult, but LULAC's record of activism continues to this day. LULAC councils across the nation continue to hold voter registration drives and citizenship awareness sessions, sponsor health fairs and tutorial programs, and raise scholarship money for the LULAC National Scholarship Fund. This fund, in conjunction with the LNESC (LULAC National Educational Service Centers), has assisted almost 10 percent of the 2.1 million students who have gone to college.

LULAC's activism has extended into the areas of language and cultural rights as well. In response to an alarming increase in xenophobia and anti-Hispanic sentiment, LULAC councils have fought back by holding seminars and public symposiums on language and immigration issues. LULAC officers have spoken out on television and radio against the "English Only" movement to limit the public (and in some cases -- private) use of minority languages.

LULAC, was one of the first national organizations the great contributions that women could make to a national civil rights organization. Its first council #9 was on February 22, 1934, in El Paso, Texas. By 1938, the league had created the first women's national office in Mrs. Ester Machuca as Ladies Organizer General. The growth of the role of women in LULAC has never stopped. The first National Vice-President for Women was elected in 1981. Today, women are the backbone of LULAC. Their membership numbers equal those of men. One of the most successful programs of the league has been two-day conferences on education and employment held in various states, and a national conference "Adelante Mujer Hispana."

What follows are some of the milestones accomplished by LULAC in its 69-year history. These milestones offered many difficult struggles, at times – life threatening, that LULAC and its members endured to get equality in justice, employment, housing, health care, and education for all Hispanics.

• (1930) Desegregated hundreds of public places throughout Texas, such as barber and beauty shops, swimming pools, restrooms, water drinking fountains, public dinning places and hotels.
• (1931) Provided the organization and financial base for the Salvatierra versus Del Rio Independent School District case, the first class-action lawsuit against segregated "Mexican Schools" in Texas.
• (1933) Formed a committee in San Antonio that led to the formation of the Liga Defensa Pro-Escolar, later known as the "School Improvement League" that fought for better schools and better education.
• (1936) Pressured the United States Bureau of the Census to reclassify persons of Mexican descent from "Mexican" to "White." The 1940 census count reflected the change.
• (1940) Played a major role in filing discrimination cases for the Federal Employment Practices Commission, the first federal civil rights agency.
• (1945) Successfully sued to integrate the Orange County school system, that had been segregated on the grounds that Mexican children were "more poorly clothed and mentally inferior to white children."
• (1946) In Santa Ana, California, filed the "Mendez vs. Westminister' lawsuit" that ended 100 years of segregation in California's public schools.
• (1947) Protested the refusal to bury war veteran Felix Longoria in his hometown of Three Rivers, Texas, and assisted in his burial at the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
• (1947) LULAC Council 1 in Corpus Christi, Texas, and its Veteran's Committee, facilitated the formation of the "American G.I. Forum" organization for Mexican American veterans.
• (1948) LULAC attorneys filed the "Delgado versus Bastrop Independent School District" lawsuit that ended the segregation of Mexican American children in Texas.
• (1950) LULAC and the American G.I. Forum filed fifteen school desegregation lawsuits in Texas.
• (1954) LULAC attorneys took the "Hernandez vs. The State of Texas" lawsuit case to the Supreme Court, winning the right for Mexican Americans to serve on juries.
• (1957) Council 60 in Houston, Texas, piloted the "Little School of the 400" project, a preschool program dedicated to teaching 400 basic English words to Spanish speaking preschool children.
• (1960) LULAC Council 60 in Houston, Texas, worked to transform the Little School of the 400 to "Project Headstart" under the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.
• (1965) LULAC Council 60 in Houston, Texas, piloted a job placement center that led to the federally funded of SER, Jobs for Progress.
• (1966) LULAC marched with and financially supported the United Farm Workers in their struggle for minimum wages and dignity.
• (1966) LULAC and the American G.I. Forum joined forces to organize SER - Jobs for Progress, now the largest and the most successful workpower program in the nation.
• (1968) LULAC created the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the legal arm of the Latino community.
• (1969) LULAC reached the 2,000 household unit mark which provides housing to low income persons.
• (1970) LULAC Council 1 of Corpus Christi, Texas, took a part in the "Cisneros vs. Corpus School District" lawsuit, that defined Mexican American as a minority for the first time.
• (1973) LULAC in San Francisco, California, piloted a project known as the LULAC Educational Service Center, in order to advance the educational needs of Hispanic students of that area.
• (1974) LULAC formed the "LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc." modeled after the successful project in San Francisco, California.
• (1975) LULAC formed the "National Scholarship Fund" in order to centralize its scholarship gifts, that dated back to 1932.
• (1980) LULAC filed numerous lawsuits with MALDEF and the Southwest Voter Education Project calling for single member districts.
• (1980) LULAC fought to get better coverage of Latinos in the media.
• (1986) LULAC took the lead in defining a Mexican American position in the Immigration and Reform Act of 1986.
• (1986) LULAC lobbied the Texas Senate subcommittee holding hearings on English Only and was successful in stopping the resolution from coming out of the committee.
• (1987) Filed the "LULAC vs. INS" class action lawsuit to force INS to process eligible amnesty class applicants.
• (1989) LULAC filed the "LULAC vs. Mattox" lawsuit that challenged the selection of judges throughout urban Texas.
• (1990) LULAC filed the "LULAC vs. Clements" lawsuit that challenged the allocation of funds to Texas Universities.
• (1994) LULAC elected the first woman president, Belen Robles.
• (1995) LULAC established the "Commitment with America" to better serve Hispanic American communities.
• (1998) LULAC filed a brief in support of sampling techniques for the 2000 census.

"National Presidents"

Ben Garza

1st president - elected at the convention held in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1929. Served one term.

His father died when Ben was only 15 years old. Ben, being poor, had to quit school to help his mother to support a family of eight. Joe, Ben's younger brother, reminisced in 1970 that when he was growing up in Rockport, Texas, Mexican American children had to go to a one-room school out in the brush. In the distance, the Mexican American children could see the fine brick Anglo school. Ben never forgot those early experiences of discrimination and dedicated his adult life to help improve conditions for Mexican Americans.

When he was 18, Ben moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, to take a job as a waiter in a café. He lived frugally to be able to share his earnings with his family. Through his efforts, Joe was able to complete high school and two years of college. Returning to Rockport during World War I, Ben worked in the shipyards.

Ben has amazing foresight and faith in the growth of Corpus Christi. He bought 10 acres next to Wynn Seale Junior High School that increased in value many times the $1,000 per acre he paid. He bought the land and in 1920 built a restaurant for $23,000. In the early 1960s, his estate turned down a $415,000 offer.

Despite the fact that he lived in Corpus Christi only 17 years, six of them in poor health, he left an imprint that will never. He took part in many benefit drives and was director of the Chamber of Commerce.

His death has not dimmed the love and good memories for his widow and five children. Ben Garza Jr., a justice of the peace in Corpus Christi, said in 1978: "I knew my father, I was 14 when he died, and he was a very compassionate man." His widow said: "My children and I still cry for him and miss him very much, but I know that his death was not in vein."

Alonso S. Perales

2nd president - elected at the 1930 convention held in Alice, Texas. Served one term.

Alonso was a native of San Antonio, Texas. He was an international figure that represented the United States in many meetings in Latin America. Alonso, a lawyer, devoted his time as LULAC president to the organization of new councils and putting into practice the aims and purposes of LULAC.

His administration was responsible for the organization of new councils in South Texas. He and other volunteers traveled at all hours of the day and night, sometimes in inclement weather, doing their organizing work. LULAC News said of such efforts: "LULAC is much indebted to the efforts and sacrifices put forth by these pioneers like Alonso S. Perales. It was this spirit of courage - tenacity and self-sacrifice - during the early history of LULAC that became known as the "LULAC Spirit." At the completion of his term of office, he turned over to his successor and organization with 24 active councils.

His greatest task was the defeat of the 'Box Immigration Bill'. This bill would have placed a quota on Mexican immigrants to the United States. Accompanied by Judge J.T. Canales of Brownsville, Texas, and Ben Garza, Alonso went to Washington, D.C. and testified in congressional hearings against this bill. The bill failed to become law.

Manuel C. Gonzales

3rd president - elected at the 1931 convention held in Edinburg, Texas. Served one term.

Gonzales, a lawyer, for several years served LULAC national in many ways as legal counsel and as executive secretary. He was an employee of the Mexican consul in San Antonio, Texas, for several years. As an employee of the Mexican consul, he came face to face with problems of Mexican Americans that the Mexican government could not solve.

The most obvious accomplishment of Gonzales' administration was the doubling of the councils from 24 to 48 in a year. However, organizing was not the only thrust of LULAC during those depression years.

During this period, LULAC began its crusade to change the system in the Texas counties of Sonora, Ozona, Uvalde and Dimmit that denied Mexican Americans service on grand and petit juries. At the same time, LULAC began to combat the segregation of Spanish speaking children in schools. This segregation caused LULAC to file its lawsuit against the Del Rio School District.

At a special convention held during his administration, the monument fund previously created in honor of Ben Garza changed to the Scholarship Fund.

J. T. Canales

4th president - elected at the 1932 convention held in _________, _______. Served one term.

J.T. Canales, a great humanitarian, was a great pillar of LULAC. Elected during the height of the depression he saw clearly that education was the best hope for Hispanic Americans. The Scholarship Fund, enabling young persons an opportunity to a higher education was put on a workable basis during his administration. Throughout his life, he donated sizable amounts to the Scholarship Fund in memory of his brother.

J.T. Canales brought LULAC to the attention of John Garner, United States Congressman of the 15th District of Texas. Congressman Garner who was so impressed with its work and its Aims and Purposes that he presented LULAC with an American flag that had long waved over the capitol in Washington, D.C.

Judge Canales drafted the LULAC Constitution in Corpus Christi in 1929. After his term of office, he remained active and ready to give a helping hand. LULAC News eulogized: "No man has worked so untiringly and so long to see that those principles upon which LULAC was founded are not trampled."

Mauro Machado

5th president - elected at the 1933 convention held in ________, _____. Served one term.

Mauro M. Machado earned the accolade of being LULAC's organizer. Here is what LULAC News said about him: "Mauro M. Machado was one of the stalwarts of LULAC…One of those cornerstones on which the building of LULAC was laid and cemented for all time…

In the pressure and hurry of everyday life, we may momentarily overlook…or seemingly forget…what Mauro did and stood for…but not for long.

His work will stand forever in the annals of LULAC, his name and everlasting part of the History of LULAC, as one of its immortals.

Upon his deathbed, on the very brink of the grave, his last thoughts were for LULAC…His last breath was a prayer; his last words a benediction and an appeal: Keep up the work of LULAC…

We remember Mauro…working all day to make a living for himself and his family…using every minute of his spare time writing letters…writing letters…always writing letters…for LULAC…

San Antonio Council #2, during our formative years, was instrumental in the organization and establishment of 85 percent of the councils of LULAC. This was true because of the contacts made by Mauro Machado…

He knew leaders in practically every community in our great Southwest…knew them by their first names. That was the secret of his success. That is why he will forever stand high as the Organizer for LULAC…"

Ermilo Lozano

6th president - elected at the 1934 convention held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Served one term.

Ermilo Lozano introduced the governor system to LULAC and advanced the educational program of the organization. "His untiring efforts were repaid by the great increase that LULAC membership made during this time," LULAC News reported.

Lozano helped improved conditions in state prisons. He went to the governor of Texas and explained that it was impossible for Mexican American prisoners that knew no English to understand orders from guards that spoke only English. Consequently, Spanish-speaking prisoners were severely punished for disobedience. The governor agreed that bilingual guards were needed and some were hired.

James Tafolla Jr.

7th president - elected at the 1935 convention held in _________, _____. Served one term.

James "Jimmie" Tafolla was born in Bexar County on August 31, 1898. "His father helped start the struggle for recognition of Mexican Americans as Americans, during the time when it took real guts to stand up for your rights," as reported LULAC News.

"Jimmie was one of those who in their youth literally pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. He is a worthy son of a worthy father; you remember, that old-line tradition of the 'chip off the old block'," reported LULAC News.

Jimmy attended the San Antonio public schools and later graduated from the John K. Weber School of Law in San Antonio and passed his bar exam. He set up his private law practice in San Antonio and later served as assistant district attorney of Bexar County for many years.

Jimmie was one of the best known attorneys, the 'dean' of Latin American attorneys of San Antonio from the standpoint of ethical and civic service to the community," reported LULAC News.

The story goes that one afternoon a judge asked Jimmie why some Mexicans resented being called Mexicans. Jimmie replied, "Judge, I am going to give you a bit of back history," and then answered, "My great grandfather, my grandfather, my father, as I and my children, are native born American citizens. Five generations of native born citizens of this country. Now, do you think my children ought to be called 'Mexicans'?" The old judge just smiled and said, "I guess you're right, Jimmie."

Frank J. Galvan Jr.

8th president - elected at the 1936 convention held in Laredo, Texas. Served one term.

Frank J. Galvan, Jr., was born February 11, 1908 in Santa Barbara, Mexico. He married Dulce Chaves and they resided at 7263 Highway East in El Paso County. He was the first national president from El Paso, Texas.

Frank graduated from the Jefferson University in Dallas, Texas. He began his law practice in 1932, later becoming a partner in the firm of Galvan and Galvan. He was a member of the American Bar Association and of the Texas State Bar.

Ramon Longoria

9th president - elected at the 1937 convention held in __________, _____. Served one term.

Ramon was born in Live Oak County on September 9, 1893, and reared in McAllen, Texas. In 1938, three years after passing the bar exam in 1935, he received the appointment of consulting attorney for the Mexican Consulate.

His administration helped expand LULAC into the states of California and Colorado. During his administration, a rule prohibiting only one council in each city passed. At the time, there were two councils in San Antonio, Councils 2 and 16. Consequently, Council 16 disbanded. In addition, a great surge in the organization of ladies' councils occurred during his administration, more than had been installed up to that time. A Washington, D.C., council was organized in honor of Senator Dennis Chavez, a LULAC member who had waged a life-long fight against school segregation in Texas.

Filemon T. Martinez

10th president - elected at the 1938 convention held in El Paso, Texas. Served one term.

Filemon from Albuquerque, New Mexico was the first non-Texan elected president. His began his administration by visiting local councils, starting from San Angelo, Texas where he was appalled to see "No Mexicans Allowed" signs in many public places.

He approached the San Angelo public school officials and after friendly chats, the discriminatory signs disappeared. He was instrumental in helping eliminate school segregation in Hondo, Texas. Correspondence with the Secretary of Education for the State of Texas erased other discriminatory practices, one that denied Spanish-speaking students the opportunity to attend high school in some Texas areas. These discriminatory practices vanished only after the State of Texas informed school districts that state funds would be denied if such practices continued.

During his administration, 14 councils organized in New Mexico and organizing work also took place in Arizona.

Ezequiel Salinas

11th president - elected at the 1939 convention held in ___________, _____. Served one term.

Ezequiel was born March 20, 1908 in Laredo, Texas. He attended the Laredo public schools and in 1933 graduated from the Law School of the University of Texas. He received a scholarship to the International School in Mexico City with the University of Mexico where he obtained a law degree. He began his private practice in Laredo in 1935 and became General Counsel of the Housing Authority in the city of Laredo. He was instrumental for bringing the first public housing units to Laredo. In 1939, he became assistant district attorney.

In January 1942, Judge Salinas entered the service of the State Department where he received a special assignment to the Ambassador in Montevideo, Uruguay. He remained in the Foreign Service for five years. In 1947, he returned to Laredo and reentered the private practice of law. In 1950, he became the first native born and the first Latin American elected District Judge of Laredo, though some had served in an appointed capacity.

Antonio M. Fernandez

12th president - elected at the 1940 convention held in ___________, _____. Served one term.

In 1924, he married Cleo Chavez of Raton, New Mexico and they had five children. He holds the distinction of being the only LULAC president that has been a U.S. Congressman. He first became a court reporter for the Eighth Judicial District of New Mexico. Then he entered the law school at Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tenn. In 1931, the Supreme Court of New Mexico admitted him to the practice of law. In 1935, he served on the New Mexico legislature, focusing his efforts on improving the public school system. He maintained that interest while serving as chief tax attorney for the New Mexico State Tax Commission during 1935 and 1936. He was the first assistant attorney general of New Mexico from 1937 to 1941. Because of his efforts, the state upgraded the quality of teachers in the poorer counties of New Mexico. In the 1950s, he was a U.S. Representative from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

George I. Sanchez

13th president - elected at the 1941 convention held in ___________, __________. Served one term.

George was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 4, 1906. Stan Steiner, an author, described George as a "salty-tongued, aging and indestructible advocate of La Raza." George was a teacher for half a century, the chairman of the Department of History and Philosophy of Education at the University of Texas, and the director of the Center for International Education. He was the pioneer Mexican American educator, upon whose shoulders fell the task of defending his people against the racist claim that Mexicans were congenitally inferior intellectually to whites.

"See these gray hairs, these scars," George told Steiner. "They come from calling a spade a spade." He was a man who liked to "put it on the line," to ask others but mostly himself to deliver. For that, he is a model of teaching excellence and intellectual candor to which a new generation aspires.

Ben Osuna

14th president - elected at the 1942 convention held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Served 8 months.

Ben, the son of Dr. Eligio Osuna and Aurelia Martinez Osuna, was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 12, 1908. His father died in 1916 making it necessary for his eight children to work for their livelihood, which they did with determined effort. Ben attended the Albuquerque public schools and in 1930 graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1934, he received his LLB from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and began the practice of law the same year in Albuquerque. From 1936 to 1940, he served as the elected Probate Judge of Bernalillo County, New Mexico. In 1941, his term limitation having expired and having no elective office, he became an active rather than an active "passive" member of LULAC. From 1941 to 1942, he served as the elected president of LULAC council 34.

Even during his "passive LULAC membership" he attended many National Conventions as an advisor for the delegates, and thereafter as delegate. In 1946, upon his return from military service he again became an active LULAC member.

Modesto A. Gomez

15th president - assumed presidency when Osuna was drafted into service. Elected at the 1943 convention held in ___________, __________. Served one term plus four months.

Modesto was born in El Paso, Texas on November 1985. He attended the El Paso public schools and St. Edward's College. He was a veteran of World War I serving with the 90th Division as a sergeant in artillery and participated in the major offensive of 1917 and 1918. After his term of duty, he returned to El Paso and became a salesman in the wholesale grocery business and after a few years, he established his own wholesale grocery enterprise.

Modesto was a charter member of LULAC Council 8, organized in 1931. He was very active in LULAC until 1945. Illness forced him to give up social and civic duties. He was the organizer general during the administration of Filemon T. Martinez.

He assumed the office of LULAC National President when Ben Osuna entered the Armed Services in 1942. He kept in contact with the LULAC Councils, during those war years, and thus was able to keep the organization alive.

William Flores

16th president - elected at the 1944 convention held in ______________, _____. Served one term.

William was born in the town of Socorro, Texas. He was a descendant of prominent Spanish pioneers that settled in New Mexico long before the United States annexed the territory. His father, Don Manuel E. Flores, was one of the most educated and respected Latin American residents of El Paso for half a century. Don Manuel E. Flores' name was solidly connected with the early history of the Southwest.

William attended various schools and a college in El Paso, enlisted in the Army in 1917, served until 1919, and was one of the most active members of LULAC in El Paso. He was secretary, director, president and district director for LULAC in El Paso. During that time he revised and compiled the by-laws of the El Paso Council. He was also a delegate to various district, regional, and national conventions.

Arnulfo Zamora

17th president - elected at the 1945 convention held in Corpus Christi, Texas and at the 1946 convention held in Houston, Texas. Served two terms.

Arnulfo was the first LULAC National President to serve two consecutive terms; elected to his first term in Corpus Christi on June 18, 1945 and re-elected by acclamation in Houston, Texas, on June 16, 1946.

On assuming the Presidency of LULAC, Arnulfo called upon all Latin Americans to unite in a common effort to bring about a general betterment in the economic condition and welfare of all Latin Americans.

"I am humbly proud of this great honor that has been conferred upon me," he stated, "but I must plead with you to help me in a successful administration by uniting to achieve our aims. This administration offers you nothing but work and more work; sweat and more sweat; but all this effort will be fully repaid. We can be strong and we can be powerful by taking in all work for the good of the community where we reside, but cannot be achieved until and unless we join forces among ourselves to bring this about."

Immediately he began to set the example. Under his able direction, LULAC News resumed publication and the Laredo Council sponsored five of the 12 issues that were published. His administration brought new blood into LULAC by reactivating over 20 LULAC Councils.

Jose Maldonado

18th president - elected at the 1947 convention held in Austin, Texas. Served one term.

Jose was the first medical doctor and the second LULAC member from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to serve as LULAC National President.

During his administration, several important events took place. His predecessor had begun a reorganization of dormant councils and he continued to activate the councils that because of the war had been inactive. New councils were organized and older councils conducted campaigns to increase their membership.

The Most important and real accomplishment of this administration was the decision of Federal Judge Rice of Austin, Texas, U.S. District Court, to abolish public school segregation in Texas. To accomplish this required a great deal of time and effort from the LULAC National President. Jose made two trips through Texas to encourage support for those that were actively engaged in the legal battle. Many of the LULAC members were dubious of the outcome of this legal action. Some lawyers were doubtful, but Gus Garcia and those that surrounded him did not give up. One could not name all those that actively participated in this big effort but Gus Garcia deserves a great deal of credit for the success. George I. Sanchez was another participant.

Raoul Cortez

19th president - elected at the 1948 convention held in ______________, __________ and at the 1949 convention held in ______________, __________. Served two terms.

After an absence of 12 years, the national presidency returned to San Antonio Council #2 when Raoul, a long-time popular figure in the city was elected in 1948. As District 15 Director, he saw the successful conclusion of the Delgado case that ended school segregation of Mexican Americans in Texas.

As LULAC National President, Raoul traveled to Mexico City to talk with President Miguel Aleman and later to Washington, D.C. to talk to President Harry S. Truman. His mission, to speak in behalf of the much abused so-called "wetbacks" entering the United States to seek work. He was credited with influencing improvements in the contractual agreements between the Mexican and the United States governments regulating the 'Bracero Program.'

Raoul owned radio station KCOR in San Antonio, being the first person to promote radio in the Spanish language in the United States. He dreamed was always to be the first to have a Spanish-language television station.

George J. Garza

20th president - elected at the 1950 convention held in El Paso, Texas and at the 1951 convention held in Laredo, Texas. Served two terms.

George was born and reared in Laredo, Texas. He was installed LULAC National President in June, 1950, at El Paso, Texas, and for a second term in June 1951, at Laredo, Texas. His administration brought a rich and varied experience accumulated through years of faithful service to LULAC. He was Vice President and President of the San Marcos and Laredo councils, District Director, National Director of Publicity and Editor of LULAC News, National First Vice President, and National Director of the LULAC Youth organization.

His administration brought three definite qualities to LULAC. First, a strict economy in all that pertained to administrative and organizational matters. Second, an enlightened conservatism concerning all matters and problems affecting LULAC and its principles. In addition, a strong emphasis on LULAC's Aims and Purposes was established.

These were not actions designed to give LULAC notoriety. They were actions well planned and intended to give LULAC a close family intimacy.

Highlights of his administration were as follows:

• Establishment of friendly and cooperative working relations with government officials and agencies,
• The solution of the poll tax segregation problem.
• A hospital problem in Wharton County, Texas.
• The solution of a school problem in Pecos, Texas, and in two other nearby communities.
• The clarification of personnel classifications at Fort Benning, Georgia.
• The invitation of the President of the United States to LULAC to take part in the mid-century White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1950.
• The emphasis on the establishment of ladies' councils.

John J. Herrera

21st president - elected at the 1952 convention held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Served one term.

John was the son of a San Antonio policeman. He descended from one of the 14 original families to settle in San Antonio. John's early life was one of struggle. However, it was also a life of fulfillment and unending satisfaction. His working life began in the cotton fields of Texas and stretched to the beetfields of Michigan.

He was a member Houston Council #60 from its beginning and served in every elected position at the council level. The passage of time never dulled the anticipation with which he looked forward to the meetings and the sharing that they entailed.

The highlight of his LULAC career, after his term as National President, was the day that he found himself, as part of a team of LULAC lawyers, practicing law before the United States Supreme Court. On this historic day, this group of lawyers argued the exclusion of Pedro Hernandez from a jury panel in the State of Texas. This became the famous landmark case known as "Hernandez versus Texas."

During his administration, the national officers of the American GI Forum and LULAC held joint sessions. His administration collected funds to fight the continuing segregation of Mexican American children in Pecos, Texas. He traveled to Arizona and New Mexico, organized, and reorganized many men, ladies, and youth councils - 53 in all. He was proud that he left over $50,000 in the treasury.

LULAC News said this of his administration; "Great strides were made to spread the word of LULAC throughout the states of Texas and New Mexico. He established 15 LULAC districts in Texas and 4 in New Mexico, so that the District Directors would be able to keep LULAC closer to the people. He undertook the first steps to build a shrine in Corpus Christi, Texas, to depict the history and the founding of LULAC.

Herrera consulted with many past officers and founders during troubled times. "I get very emotional about this," he said with misty eyes, "because these were our founding fathers. I approached these giants with timidity but they welcomed me and gave me worthy advice. All my personal associations and much of my personal inspiration I owe to LULAC."

Albert Almendariz

22st president - elected at the 1953 convention held in ______________, __________. Served one term.

Almendariz was national president during LULAC's 25th anniversary. His administration devoted much time to organizational work. During his term of office, California, previously independent and with its own shield, came back into the main LULAC organization. Before his administration LULAC had been mostly, a Texas based organization. He initiated the organizing efforts in the Midwest and the reawakening of councils in New Mexico and Colorado. He reorganized the LULAC National Constitution and bylaws into its present form. Housing efforts began and this led to LULAC's first housing development - 200 units built in El Paso, Texas. This housing development provided Mexican Americans a better place to live at a price they could afford. After his term of office, he became the chairperson of first LULAC housing committee. As chairperson of this committee, he went on to create the LULAC housing units in San Antonio, Texas. He accomplishments were many and sometimes risky.

A bold initiative nearly got him impeached even though it enabled LULAC to pursue its most important civil rights case to victory before the United States Supreme Court - Hernandez versus Texas. After the American GI Forum ran out of funds to continue with the case, the attorneys - Gus Garcia, Carlos Cadena and John J. Herrera - asked for $2,000. Almendariz, realizing the importance and significance of the case, diverted $1,000 earmarked for the scholarship fund. Pete Tijerina, president of San Antonio Council #2, did the same thing. "We knew we would caught hell but faced the ire of our constituents," recalled Almendariz, "but this was the first case dealing with the civil rights of Mexican Americans that had an opportunity to reach the United States Supreme Court."

His administration was responsible for organizing the first men and ladies councils. Before this, women had fought and won the right to have their own councils. In the beginning women could only be auxiliaries. Almendariz credits the women of LULAC as very helpful in all aspects of the LULAC movement.

Other positions that Almendariz has held in El Paso include

• Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission
• Chairperson of the Catholic Welfare Board
• Board Member of the Child Welfare Board
• Board Member of the Catholic Diocesan School
• Member of Advisory Committee on Juvenile Delinquency

"I credit LULAC with whatever success I have had," Almendariz said.

Frank Pinedo

Pinedo was born in Austin, Texas, on September 17, 1925, and graduated from Austin High School in 1943, having entered the V-5 Naval Reserve Program as a senior. He continued the V-5 Naval Reserve Program at Southwestern University and 16 months later was sent to midshipmen's school in New York City, where he was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve in 1945.

He was on active duty until 1946 and in the Naval Reserve in a Law Company until 1974 when he retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Returning to college in 1946 and majoring in government, Pinedo graduated from the University of Texas in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and in 1950 with a law degree. He was admitted to the bar in 1950, practiced law in Austin until 1950 when he was appointed assistant state attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) office in Houston, becoming attorney in charge in 1958.

Pinedo left the SEC in 1960 to enter private law practice, first with a firm and then by himself. In 1968, he formed a partnership with Austin Wilson and Jerry G. Hill. Later, he went back into law practice by himself, specializing in corporate and securities law.

Other positions that Pinedo has held include

• Vice-Chairperson of the Houston Chamber of Commerce's Governmental Affairs Committee
• Chairperson of the Houston Chamber of Commerce's Crime Control Committee
• Legal Advisor of the American GI Forum
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the Houston Legal Foundation
• Member of the Biracial Committee of the Houston Independent School District

Pinedo married the former Edith O'Kruhlik of Praho, Texas, and had three sons.

Oscar M. Laurel

24th president - elected at the 1955 convention held in ______________, __________. Served one term.

Laurel was born in Laredo, Texas, on June 8, 1920. He attended Ursiline Academy and graduated from Martin High School. Then he enrolled in Loyola of the South before volunteering for the Army Air Corps in 1941. After service as an airplane mechanic on B-17 and B-29 bombers, he was discharged as a staff sergeant in 1945. Then he enrolled in pre-law at the University of Texas and graduated from the South Texas College of Law in Houston in 1950, passing the bar exam the same year.

Other positions that Pinedo has held include

• Special investigator for the District Attorney's Office in Laredo (1952-56)
• State Representative for the 80th District of Texas (1961-62)
• Member of the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty (1967)
• Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (1967-72)
• Executive Director of the Good Neighbor Commission of Texas (1973-75)
• Chairperson of the Chapter of the National Foundation of Infantile Paralysis (1964-65) and (1977-78)
• President of the Optimist Club of Laredo (1977-78)
• President of the International Good Neighbor Council from (1977-78)

Laurel married Elsa Gonzales in 1951 and had two children - Elsa L. Nicholson and Oscar M. Laurel Jr.

Felix Tijerina

25th president - elected at the 1956 convention held in ______________, __________, at the 1957 convention held in ______________, __________, at the 1958 convention held in ______________, __________, and at the 1959 convention held in San Antonio, Texas. Served four terms.

Felix Tijerina, the son of a farm worker, found himself with the heavy responsibility of helping support his widowed mother and three sisters when he was barely nine years old. He toiled in the cotton fields and had no opportunity to attend school. As the hard years went by, he finally moved to Houston, got a job as a dishwasher, taught himself English, married, and established his own restaurant.

He was very successful and eventually became the owner of three restaurants. Wealth brought him invitations to join civic organizations, including LULAC. Tijerina was a member of Houston LULAC Council #60. He held many positions within the council. He was the director of the Rotary Club, of a bank and of numerous enterprises.

Never forgetting his own hardships as a boy who could speak English, Tijerina was the inspiration and financial backer of the Little School of the 400, the precursor of the Headstart Program.

Hector Godinez

26th president - elected at the 1960 convention held in Phoenix, Arizona. Served one term.

Born on the grounds of the San Diego Mission, Godinez attended schools in Santa Ana, California, and entered the Armed Services after his high school graduation. He participated in the Allied Invasion of France and the ensuing major battles that led to victory in Europe. He returned home in 1946 and went to work for the Post Office as a clerk, rising to the position of Southern California District Manager of the U.S. Postal Service. At the same time, he attended Santa Ana College at night, majoring in Business Administration.

In 1946, Godinez joined LULAC Council #147. He served in every office of his local council. In 1955, he became Director of his LULAC District. In 1958, he became State Director of LULAC in California. In addition, in 1957 he became LULAC National Vice President. At the end of his term as National President, LULAC was a strong, viable organization with a surplus in its treasury and new councils.

Other positions that Godinez has held include

• President of the Rancho Santiago College
• Founder and first Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Banco del Pueblo
• Member of the California Attorney General's Advisory Commission on Police-Community Relations
• President of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce
• Member of the Santa Ana Urban Development Commission

Frank Valdez

27th president - elected at the 1961 convention held in El Paso, Texas and at the 1962 convention held in Anaheim, California. Served two terms.

Valdez, a registered architect, was National President during a time of reorganization. During his administration, LULAC was in 17 states and plans to expand into other states began immediately. A start to offer a life insurance program to LULAC members began, although subsequent administrations did not make this a reality. Appropriately, this was the beginning of LULAC's venture into housing with the purchase of the project in El Paso. Valdes was the architect on several other LULAC housing developments - San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Sinton, Texas.

Valdes started his practice as an architect in 1952, heading his own firm in San Antonio since his graduation the same year from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in that field. His firm designed many buildings in the city of San Antonio. His designs include; the federal office building, the Texas Employment Commission building, several schools and churches, and a solar-cooled elementary school.

Valdes held many important offices in LULAC. He was the president and secretary-treasurer of LULAC Council #2. He was State Director of the Texas LULAC organization. Other positions that he has held include,

• Member of the Board of Directors of the San Antonio Urban Renewal Agency
• Member of the San Antonio Planning Commission
• Member of the Board of Directors of the San Antonio Public Broadcasting Television Station
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Folkloric Festival of the Institute of Texan Culture
• Member of the Board of Directors of the San Antonio Symphony
• Past President of Sembradores de Amistad
• Member of the American Institute of Architects
• Member of the San Antonio and of the Texas Society of Architects

He married Magdalena Valdes of Leguna Beach, California. He and his wife had four children - Frank, Lance, Janina, and Damian Omar.

Paul Andow

28th president - elected at the 1963 convention held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Served one term.

Andow, a native of El Paso and an attorney led LULAC when the civil rights movement was just beginning, voicing concerns for which LULAC had been working quietly for more than 30 years. His most cherished moment was visiting with President John F. Kennedy on the last evening of Kennedy's life. This occurred in Houston on November 21, 1963. President Kennedy, in Texas on a political trip, visited Houston's LULAC members. Andow recalled that the First Lady addressed the LULAC audience in Spanish and President Kennedy spoke about the Alliance for Progress. President Kennedy had a free hour before going to a Democratic meeting, and out of more than 1,000 invitations he chose to spend that hour with LULAC. Nineteen hours later President Kennedy was dead.

Andow was responsible for incorporating LULAC as a State of Texas corporation during his term in office. "LULAC teaches us to be good American citizens, decent human beings," he said. "I would say that LULAC has been very important in my life," he adds.

William David Bonilla

29th president - elected at the 1964 convention held in Bensenville, Illinois. Served one term.

He was born in Calvert, Texas, started school in a segregated Mexican country school but was later allowed to attend Calvert public schools, from where he graduated with high honors. At Calvert High School, he played football and basketball, was on the track team and served as president of his senior class. The second of eight children, he helped support himself by working at a grocery store, drug store, and service station, and in the cotton harvest.

After graduating from high school, he worked his way through Baylor University in Waco, Texas, be serving meals in the dormitory dining room. He was a good student and made good grades. He was active in the Newman Club, the Pre-law Club and Alphi Chi Honorary Scholastic Society. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951 and continued his studies at Baylor Law School, where he became president of the freshman class. In 1952, he transferred to the University of Texas School of Law where he became a member of the Texas Law Review. He worked for a law firm in order to pay his expenses in law school. After receiving his law degree in 1953, he opened his first law office in Corpus Christi and became a senior member of the law firm of Bonilla, Read, Bonilla and Berlanga.

He held every LULAC office of Council #1, was State Director for two terms, National Legal Advisor and National Secretary, secretary and chairperson of the SER Board of Directors an