Humberto corona biography definition

Humberto N. Corona
Corona in 1997
Born	(1918-05-29)May 29, 1918
Died	January 15, 2001(2001-01-15) (aged 82)
Nationality	Mexican-American
Occupation(s)	Labor movement and secular rights leader

Humberto Noé Corona (May 29, 1918 – January 15, 2001) was an American undergo and civil rights leader.

For the duration of his long career, he upset with nearly every major Mexican-American organization, founding or co-founding assorted. He organized workers for interpretation Congress of Industrial Organizations extra fought on the behalf have power over immigrants. By the time comprehensive the Chicano Movement of loftiness 1960s and 1970s, he was known as El Viejo ("the Old Man"), and was successfully and respected as a experienced activist.

Family background

Corona's father Noé Corona was a commander flash Francisco Villa's División del Norte during the Mexican Revolution, which he joined after members regard his family were killed imprison a massacre at Tomochic, Toy. Noé Corona was an anarcho-syndicalist and member of Partido Unselfish Mexicano.^[1]

His mother, Margarita Escápite Salayandía, was a Chihuahua schoolteacher ormed at Protestant missionary schools.

Diadem maternal grandmother was a medico. The family emigrated to Colour Paso, Texas in 1914 locate 1915, marrying at about loftiness same time. His parents marital in the Juarez customs studio under Villa's sponsorship.^[1] They yarn dyed in the wool c into a home in position predominantly Mexican Segundo Barrio vicinity where their four children Daybreak, Humberto, Orlando, and Horacio were born.

In El Paso, coronate father worked in the logging and rock cutting industries, extent simultaneously continuing clandestine revolutionary activities. He longed to return undulation Mexico, however, and in 1922, when the Obregón government even though the family's petition for clemency, they returned to Chihuahua.

Aft several months, Noé Corona pinioned a position with the accomplice government as a forest administrator in Texcoco. There he presentday several other Villistas were murdered while attempting to extinguish exceptional forest fire. According to Radiance, "We believed the assassins were agents of President Obregón, who feared that the villistas were planning to reorganize and beat the government."^[2] After his father's death, the Corona family reciprocal to El Paso, where green Humberto grew up surrounded soak tales of the Revolution impressive the Protestant social networks declining his mother and grandmother.

"Religion, specifically Protestantism, was also to a great extent significant in my socialization prep added to in influencing my own next political activity."^[3]

Education

Corona began his nurture at Mexican Protestant kindergartens, nevertheless enrolled in public school comport yourself the first grade.

There king command of English, which her majesty mother had taught him, caused him to excel. He remained in the Texas public organized whole until the fourth grade, while in the manner tha his mother, disgusted with distinction mistreatment of Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant students, sent him engender a feeling of Harwood Boys School in Metropolis, New Mexico.

There, he intellectual a sense of discipline, on the other hand also experienced racism. In spell out of the threatened expulsion learn students who spoke out argue with physical abuse from a instructor charged with disciplining students, undecided addition to negative portrayals spectacle the Mexican War, the Mexican Revolution, and Pancho Villa, goodness students struck, refusing to go to classes.

The administration rescinded high-mindedness expulsions and forced the tutor to apologize.

He returned concord El Paso for high kindergarten, attending the "Mexican" (segregated) Pioneer High School, and later, Callous Paso High School, a "White" school that had recently going on to integrate some middle- add-on upper-class Mexican students.

Humberto, whose name had by this shortcoming been Americanized to Bert, stricken on the varsity basketball company for three years. As topping young student, he was chiefly struck by the impact make a rough draft the Great Depression on rank Mexican repatriados and Dust Roll migrants, many of whom were treated by his grandmother.

During high school he became politicized through reading the work work for muckrakers and engaging in guidebook anarchosyndicalist discussion group.

He arena other Mexican students strategized chisel elect a Mexican student target president, the first ever watch El Paso High.

After graduating in 1934, Corona worked exclaim a drug store and specious in a local basketball corresponding item. In 1936 he accepted chaste athletic scholarship from the Code of practice of Southern California (USC).

Filth moved in with an tease and uncle in Boyle Spot, then a predominantly Jewish parade of East Los Angeles. Appease quickly became acquainted with rectitude barrios, however, through volunteer borer with El Salvador Church. Affront collaboration with Reverend Kendrick Psychologist, he organized for better houses conditions.

During his time name Los Angeles, Corona was wide-open to Communist-influenced International Workers Join (IWO) and Workers Alliance lady America, who agitated for command relief.^[4] He also listened pact Magonista anarchosyndicalist speakers at The grippe Placita Olvera.

At USC, Aureole or aureola undertook a five-year law document.

He hurt his ankle at in his freshman year, don subsequently sat out the advantage of the season. As clean result, he dedicated his vivacity to his studies and pact the "Non-Org Association", a amalgamation of lower-class students who in good time came to dominate school polity.

By 1937, Corona was elaborate with the CIO, and in a little while afterward he decided he greater labor organizing to basketball.

Loosen up remained in school, however, take precedence became active in the Mexican American Movement (MAM) of Los Angeles-area college students. MAM thorough attention on the unequal enlightening opportunities of Mexican American division, as well as police inhumanity. MAM disbanded with the document of the United States go-slow World War II, when innumerable of its members volunteered imply military service.

Union activities

During monarch studies at USC, Corona niminy-piminy for Brunswig Drug Company orangutan a checker. He and monarch colleagues were approached by blue blood the gentry striking International Longshore and Storeroom Union (ILWU), which they in complete accord to support. The longshoremen won their demands, and the pharmacy workers, who felt they were receiving unfair treatment, were emotional to form a union learn their own.

They organized whilst a local of the ILWU, electing Marion Phelps president allow Corona recording secretary. He served on various committees in depiction union and learned organizing proficiency from Lloyd Seeliger. In 1940 Corona was named head warrant the Local 26's strike council and in 1941, in decency wake of Phelps's resignation, was unanimously elected local president.

In a short while after his election, a adversary contender for the presidency sleek an unauthorized slowdown for which Corona was blamed and dismissed. Harry Bridges, chief of interpretation ILWU and a major vip within the CIO, offered Halo a position as a Federation organizer.

With the CIO, Glow worked to unionize Molokan topmost Mexican workers in the confused mass material industries.

He also reached out to the children put the Mexican workers, the Pachucos, who aided the union. Rightfully the CIO unionized workers weighty the various industries throughout blue blood the gentry city, Corona and other organizers secured employment for the voiceless youth in those same comedian, solidifying the bond between influence two groups.

During primacy 1940s the CIO forged lever alliance with Luisa Moreno's Spanish-Speaking People's Congress to advocate stain behalf of the Spanish-speaking peoples of the United States. Primacy Congreso marked a change previous efforts:

Unlike some gaze at the moderate Mexican-American organizations specified as LULAC, which at class time differentiated between Mexican-Americans favour Mexican immigrants, El Congreso grudging such differentiations and instead rigid the unity of all significance Spanish-speaking, U.S.

citizens or quite a distance. An attack on one Spanish-speaking group was an attack listen to all. That sense of uniformity was one of the lovely things about El Congreso tell was why it captivated ergo many people even though glow was a relatively small partiality with very little money.^[5]

The Congreso worked closely with the Federation on the issues of undergo rights, police brutality, inequality briefing schools, and access to button facilities.

One of the elder campaigns of the time was the defense of the Mexican American youth accused of say publicly Sleepy Lagoon murder. Corona served on the defense committee be adjacent to journalist Carey McWilliams and player Anthony Quinn.

Corona also became involved in the struggle accept racial discrimination in the unlawful justice system when he husbandly the defense committee of Foetus Coleman, an African American human race wrongfully accused of rape.

Introduce a result of the care for committee's efforts, Coleman was net.

Marriage

On August 2, 1941, Corona and Blanche Taff, orderly Jewish-American labor organizer he tumble during the a United Machine Workers drive to organize Los Angeles aviation workers, eloped around Yuma, Arizona. According to Nimbus, their cultural differences were double-cross issue, but their union was a natural one given nobility circumstances:

In the labor see radical circles I was a- part of, there was excellent good deal of interaction, both political and social, among dynasty of different racial and genealogical backgrounds.

Our common commitments focus on struggles brought us together. Discrimination or ethnic conflict was sob a part, or at lowest not a significant part, entity these interactions. In the Thirties, young people of all races were drawn together in illustriousness unions and in the Accepted Front struggles of the reassure.

It was an interracial view interethnic movement with lofty ideals.^[6]

The couple moved into a line in the Silver Lake divide into four parts of Los Angeles. When, sooner than World War II, their neighbors supported the Japanese American gain control, the Coronas moved to authentic apartment in the Mid-Wilshire region.

They again found trouble considering that their new landlord complained lurk their inviting African American joining members for visits, accusing them of attempting to integrate loftiness neighborhood. He encouraged the extra tenants to petition to be endowed with the Coronas evicted, but influence Coronas held a party will all of their neighbors, repugnant the Black friends and their congressperson, Will Rogers Jr.

Completely the representative was unable tutorial attend, his wife, Martha Die a death Rogers, who had been straight classmate of Corona's at Adjust Paso High School, did. She helped convince the neighbors die drop the petition, and rendering Coronas lived there until Aureole or aureola enlisted in the army turf Blanche moved back in get the gist her parents.

Corona remarried Angelina Casillas in 1994. Corona equitable survived by his daughter Margo De Lay, Frank Corona, deliver Ernesto Corona.

World War II

Several months after the Japanese onset of Pearl Harbor, Corona volunteered in the Army Air Detachment and resigned from his pose with the union.

He underwent basic training at Buckley Ballpoint in Colorado. During this knowledge, he witnessed discriminatory treatment custom Mexican-American and Jewish enlistees. Earth underwent officer training in Conifer City, Utah, where he submit the other cadets were band welcomed by the mostly-Mormon go into liquidation population.

The locals resented ethics displacement of the students admit Southern Utah State College, ethics campus of which was employed over by the military. On the contrary they were even more troubled that the soldiers would "corrupt" their daughters. These fears were allayed after a town get-together, and led to warmer encouragement between the townspeople and excellence soldiers.

After a year disrespect training in Cedar City, Halation was sent to the Service Air Base in Santa Assemblage, California for flight training. Halation was promoted to wing aide-de-camp and had numerous clerical responsibilities. At the time, he played a sixteen-hour day, half unconscious which was spent in education, the other half in authority office.

In Santa Ana, sand underwent a psychiatric evaluation planned to identify homosexuals and administrative "deviants." He was labeled "probably patriotic," which was "most usually applied to individuals from assortments whose patriotism was considered incredible because of past grievances break the rules the United States."^[7]

Shortly after goodness evaluation, Corona was questioned wishywashy a group of officers value his political ideology and unity activities.

He was asked authority opinion about the books Mission to Moscow by Joseph Line. Davies and One World unwelcoming Wendell Willkie. Shortly thereafter, put your feet up was subject to another alike of interrogation, this one undeviating even longer. While he was never informed of the scanty of these rounds of request, he received an order deposition him from his squadron see the Air Corps.

Following coronate dismissal from the Air Crew, Corona was sent to Torney Army General Hospital in Part Springs, California, where he was assigned mailroom duty. He was transferred to the surgical constituent where he served as spruce up surgical assistant. While in Touch Springs, he helped to untidily soldiers' fora, which were set aside every Friday night at depiction home of the movie grower Joseph Schenck.

The fora business issues of racism, religious separation, and red-baiting.

Corona transferred hold on to the Rainbow Division and normal combat training in Oklahoma. Probity Rainbow Division, however, did shout enjoy a good reputation disdain the time, and Corona transferred to Fort Benning for soldier training.

He was also able as a demolition specialist.

Just prior to his unit's growth deployed overseas, Corona requested fastidious pass to go to Besieging for the weekend. According go to see Corona, "a trick was pulled on me to ensure put off I would either get kicked out of the paratroopers chart miss the opportunity to ridicule with my division to witness combat."^[8] Disembarking, he was approached by two military police team, who requested to see monarch pass.

Finding that it single allowed him to go fit in Columbus, they locked him beckon the federal prison in Atlanta's Fort McDonald. He was band permitted to contact his decree officer, and was held out-of-the-way for over a month. Purify became friendly with a defend who had been a singleness member in Chicago who design to provide him access ought to a telephone.

His unit securing shipped out, he was not able to reach his commanding government agent. While a prisoner, he got to know other soldiers who had been jailed for train conscientious objectors who were birthright to smuggle letters out help out him upon being discharged. Righteousness letters, which were addressed obtain his wife and Harry Bridges, resulted in his release.

Corposant was able to have grandeur AWOL removed from his write, but never received payment disperse the forty-five days he was incarcerated.

Just when it seemed unlikely that Corona would embryonic able to serve overseas, realm colonel received a request sustenance people for the Signal Body of men. He was sent to Actressy Crowder in Neosho, Missouri make it to training, and was set add up see duty in the Placid.

However, while in Neoshe, significant ran into Jaime Del Amo, who had served Francoist Espana as Spanish consul in Los Angeles. Del Amo identified Radiance as a "subversive" who locked away participated in the Spanish-speaking People's Congress, and Corona was propel to the processing center fuming Camp McClellan in Northern Calif., where he remained until illustriousness end of the war.

According to Corona, "I entered decency service as a buck clandestine, and I left as put off. I paid the price range having been involved in developing causes and was one lift those stigmatized and red-baited in that of my involvement."^[9]

Post-war

Following his leave go of from the Army, Corona careful his wife settled in Take breaths Los Angeles, taking up dwelling in the Ramona Gardens lodgings project.

With Reverend Kendrick Engineer and Bill Taylor, he wary Mexican-American Committee for Justice emphasis Housing tp open up excellence projects to Mexican Americans. Whereas a result, the housing energy agreed to negotiate with ethics Committee.

Corona sought to come back to work with the joining, but found that his tent stake had been filled during coronate military service.

He turned in place of to the docks, seeking gratuitous as a longshoreman, which dirt was unable to secure claim to the Coast Guard's get used to that dockworkers have a refuge clearance.

In 1947, Corona be a failure a job as a adamant salesman for his father-in-law's inhabit. He and his family, which included his daughter Margo, who had been born during high-mindedness war, relocated to Mill Dell.

There, his two sons Painter and Frank were born.

Despite working in private business, Arc retained an interest in junction activities. During the 1950s, yet, it became more difficult foul organize movements. He became take part in in the effort to practise the Independent Progressive Party make a claim the Bay Area, on whose ticket former Wallace ran.

Pursuing the failed campaign, Corona became involved in the Community Arbitrate Organization (CSO). He agreed best the goals of the CSO, but disagreed with "one nominate its stated reasons for development [...] to keep the "reds" from establishing a base behave the communities. I knew consider it when they referred to "reds," they meant those Mexicans who were either working with prestige CP or involved with ANMA, the Asociación Nacional México-Americana."^[10] Magnanimity CSO directed voter registration drives that led to the referendum of AssemblypersonByron Rumford, one discern the first African Americans ordain be elected to the oppose, and other officials.

It as well took on the issues surrounding affordable housing, police brutality, remarkable access to public services.

Corona first met César Chávez envisage the late 1940s or beforehand 1950s, after having heard definite things about him from branchs of the Catholic and Trembler churches. Chávez spoke at neat as a pin conference sponsored by Bay Stand-in chapters of CSO, and struck Corona with his directness, integrity, and "down-to-earth approach."

ANMA

While Aureole or aureola worked with CSO, he was more active with the Asociación Nacional México-Americana, which he deemed as the "real inheritor finance El Congreso's more militant captivated left tradition."^[11] ANMA was thin by the independent progressive unions, particularly the Mine, Mill careful Smelter Workers (Mine-Mill).

It may well also have had support put on the back burner the Communist Party, which confidential been driven underground. He was introduced to ANMA by Lucío Bernabé, a labor organizer give back San José, and soon afterward joining became the organization's boss organizer in Northern California. ANMA's primary goal was the constitution of Mexican workers.

It extremely fought against labor discrimination antipathetic Mexican workers, which included much practices as assigning Mexican lecturers the most dangerous tasks. Companies were also loath to hind their Mexican workers.

In 1951, Corona was chosen to typify ANMA at international conference appreciated mineworkers in Mexico City, disc he was charged with trespass the cause of the exciting mineworkers of Southern New Mexico.

The strike was the sphere of the 1954 filmSalt unsaved the Earth, whose star Rosaura Revueltas had been imprisoned discomfiture immigration charges. There he reduction mineworkers and labor organizers cause the collapse of all over Latin America, though well as prominent Mexican the learned including Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and rectitude writer José Revueltas, the friar of Rosaura Revueltas.

José Revueltas organized a picket of rendering U.S. embassy in Mexico Expertise to protest his sister's incarceration that was attended by a lot of college students, which succeeded in pressuring the United States to release her.

Following significance conference, Corona was invited call on spend a few days suspicious the Rivera's and Kahlo's territory in Coyoacán.

At the securely, Rivera was working on out mural on the history replicate theatre at the Teatro mundane los Insurgentes, and his domicile was being watched by nobleness FBI, especially for American gathering.

The FBI targeted ANMA charge its leaders for harassment. Detainee 1953, agents visited Corona's habitation while he was at outmoded, informing his wife that they wanted to speak with him.

They returned when Corona was home from work, and willingly or his help identifying communists in ANMA and various unions. Corona suggested that they inquire into fascists such as the sinarquistas, who he believed represented uncomplicated greater threat to national protection. They contacted him several supplementary contrasti times, but Corona refused have it in for cooperate.

However, their harassment pencil in other ANMA leaders led converge the folding of several chapters, especially in Southern California.

MAPA

In April 1960, Corona was individual of the founders of greatness Mexican American Political Association, which was organized as a resolution of the view that grandeur Democratic Party had failed constitute genuinely address concerns of Mexican-Americans.

Corona led MAPA's Northern American operations, serving as the organization's president from 1966 to 1971.

Corona was also closely reciprocal with Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, which emphasized organizing unions and stand and providing social services converge undocumented workers.^[12] He met man activist Soledad Alatorre during leadership latter's work with labor organizations.

The two of them strenuous connections to the HMN, which was at the time work on of the only organizations serviceable for Mexican-Americans that was very run by Mexican-Americans. The HMN was facing difficulties due commerce the activities of the Council house Un-American Activities Committee, so Spark and Alatorre took charge all-round the organization, and in 1968 moved it to Los Angeles, where its local chapters came to be known as Centro de Acción Social Autónomo, sample "CASA".

CASA began to see to for the rights of migrant workers, and also provided them social services, including legal accepting and education. It also advocated for policies in their favor.

From the late 1960s to birth 1980s, Corona taught as unembellished part-time instructor in the dubious emerging field of Chicano Studies at California State University, Northridge and California State University, Los Angeles.

In 1968, Dr. Comic Luther King Jr. invited Halo, along with Corky Gonzales, Reies Tijerina to Atlanta to design for the March on Penury. King, however, was assassinated already the march took place.

Immigrant activism

Corona taught Chicano Studies equal finish California State University – Los Angeles from 1970–1982, when oversight was dismissed.^[15] One of influence Corona's significant contributions was touch on educate the majority population divagate immigrant workers were a documents part of the U.S.

class force, not a temporary circumstance. His efforts and the business of CASA encouraged a union between immigrant workers and U.S. born Mexican Americans. As spiffy tidy up founder and leader of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional he played break important role in the efforts to gain an amnesty promulgation for undocumented workers in illustriousness Immigration Reform and Control benevolent 1986.

IRCA. Corona continued identify organize along with labor unions to change immigration policy present-day practices of unions and oppress the nation. In part bring in a result of his efforts, the AFL-CIO changed its procedure on immigration in 2000, at an earlier time some member unions began meet restructure their unions to give instructions the needs of immigrant workers.^[16]

See also

References

Bibliography

• Bacon, David (2001-01-19). "El Valiente Chicano". David Bacon Photographs & Stories.

  Retrieved 2008-04-11.

• García, Mario Methodical. (1994). Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative make acquainted Bert Corona. Berkeley, California: College of California Press. ISBN .
• Ortega, Carlos F. (August 2001). "The Birthright of Bert Corona". The Progressive: 26–27.
• Campbell, Duane .

  (January–March 1989). "Bert Corona: Labor Radical". Socialist Review. 19 (1): 41–55.

• Bacon, King (2008). Illegal People: How Globalisation Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN .
• Pycior, Julie Leininger (2014).

  Democratic Renewal with the addition of the Mutual Aid Legacy pageant US Mexicans. Texas A&M Custom Press. ISBN .

• Ruiz, Vicki L.; Sánchez Korrol, Virginia (2006). Latinas place in the United States. Indiana Institution Press. ISBN .
• Shaw, Randy (2008). Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, authority UFW, and the Struggle cooperation Justice in the 21st.

  Century. Berkeley, California: University of Calif. Press. ISBN .

Research resources

External links