By Chavez H.C.R. No. 101 77R5452 MMS-D 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.