HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-1 WHEREAS, The passing of prominent labor organizer and
1-2 community and civil rights activist Bert Corona of Los Angeles on
1-3 January 15, 2001, at the age of 82, brought a profound sense of
1-4 loss to his family and to his many friends and admirers across the
1-5 country; and
1-6 WHEREAS, Mr. Corona was born on May 29, 1918, in El Paso to
1-7 Mexican immigrant parents; he enrolled at the University of
1-8 Southern California in 1936 but left school and became an organizer
1-9 for the Congress of Industrial Organizations and for the United
1-10 Cannery, Agriculture, Packing and Allied Workers of America; and
1-11 WHEREAS, In 1938 he joined the prominent activist Luisa
1-12 Moreno in building the Congreso del Pueblo de Habla Espanola, the
1-13 Congress of Spanish-Speaking People, a group established to address
1-14 political concerns and one of the first national organizations
1-15 created by Mexican Americans; and
1-16 WHEREAS, Mr. Corona was credited with helping to keep the
1-17 peace in Los Angeles during the 1940s, when tensions between the
1-18 police department and the Mexican American community were
1-19 increasing; in 1947, in response to continuing discrimination,
1-20 Latino leaders in Los Angeles founded the Community Service
1-21 Organization, and Mr. Corona helped to organize local chapters,
1-22 which originally focused on voter registration drives; and
1-23 WHEREAS, While attempts were being made in the 1940s and
1-24 1950s to organize farmworkers in California, Mr. Corona saw the
2-1 organization of undocumented workers as a complementary project; in
2-2 1951 he established the Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, the National
2-3 Mexican Brotherhood, which soon played a significant role in
2-4 providing services to immigrants; at the time of his passing he was
2-5 the national director and executive director of the Hermandad, a
2-6 nonprofit, community-based organization; and
2-7 WHEREAS, During the 1950s Mr. Corona worked as a regional
2-8 organizer for the Associacion Nacional Mexico-Americano, the
2-9 National Association of Mexican Americans; created to fill the void
2-10 left by the demise of the Congress of Spanish-Speaking People
2-11 during World War II, the association promoted Mexican American
2-12 culture and worked to address numerous other issues such as
2-13 education, labor, and housing concerns; and
2-14 WHEREAS, In 1959 Mr. Corona helped to create another
2-15 important institution, the Mexican American Political Association;
2-16 this group, which he led as president in the early 1960s, was the
2-17 first statewide political organization for Mexican Americans in
2-18 California, and it became a significant force in the state during
2-19 the 1960s and 1970s; Mr. Corona also played a vital role in the
2-20 establishment of a separate political party, La Raza Unida; and
2-21 WHEREAS, Continuing concern for the problems faced by
2-22 undocumented workers led Mr. Corona to found the Centro de Ayuda,
2-23 the Help Center; later known as the Centro de Accion Social
2-24 Autonoma, the center initially focused on assisting those with
2-25 immigration problems and promoting worker organization; and
2-26 WHEREAS, In recognition of the vast experience he had gained
2-27 in the long quest for equal treatment and opportunity, Mr. Corona
3-1 received an appointment in 1967 to the United States Civil Rights
3-2 Commission; he taught in the Chicano Studies Department of
3-3 California State University, Los Angeles, for more than a decade
3-4 during the 1970s and 1980s and served on the faculty at other
3-5 California State campuses; and
3-6 WHEREAS, Memories of Chicano History, Mr. Corona's
3-7 autobiography, was published by the University of California Press
3-8 in 1993, and important archival collections relating to his work
3-9 are housed at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and at
3-10 Stanford University; and
3-11 WHEREAS, A tireless champion of Latinos in the United States,
3-12 Bert Corona spent well over half a century helping people to
3-13 organize in their own behalf, to improve the conditions of their
3-14 lives, and to preserve the beauty and vitality of their cultural
3-15 heritage; now, therefore, be it
3-16 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
3-17 hereby pay special tribute to the life of Bert Corona and express
3-18 sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife,
3-19 Angelina Corona; to his daughter, Margo De Ley; to his sons, David,
3-20 Frank, and Ernesto Corona; to his grandchildren, Baltie, Liza, and
3-21 Clare; and to the many others who cherished this great man; and, be
3-22 it further
3-23 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
3-24 prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
3-25 Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory
3-26 of Bert Corona.
Chavez
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 101 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 29, 2001.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 101 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the Senate on April 9, 2001.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________________
Date
__________________________
Governor