The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) — founded in 1929 in Corpus Christi — is the nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization.
Alonso S. Perales, a key figure in the founding of LULAC, has often gone unknown in Mexican American civil rights history.
Perales was born in South Texas in 1898 and was orphaned at a young age. He rose to prominence as a veteran, an attorney, an author, and a diplomat.
Perales was seen as a controversial figure by Mexican American civil leaders of the time and by modern Chicano historians for LULAC’s emphasis on U.S. citizenship and English as its official language.
Cynthia E. Orozco, professor emeritus in history from Eastern New Mexico University, has worked to bring Perales’ story out of the shadows.
She is the author of the book, Pioneer of Mexican American Civil Rights: Alonso S. Perales, the first comprehensive biography of Perales.
“People had no knowledge of what Perales or LULAC had done,” she said. “There was no written history, and to date, there is not a good, full history of the LULAC organization.”
Orozco emphasized the need to learn about Perales, especially amid anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican sentiment.
“There is no Gus Garcia without Alonso Perales. There is no Carlos Cadena,” she said. “LULAC is so key to the improvement of race relations in San Antonio. You cannot understand 20th century San Antonio if you don’t know about Perales and LULAC.”
The “Alonso S. Perales: Civil Rights Trailblazer” traveling exhibit is on display at San Antonio’s Mexican American Civil Rights Institute’s (MACRI) visitor center.
It features informative panels and some of Perales’ personal items, including his desk, his top hat, and family photos.
The exhibit is on display through Oct. 19.
The U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Program at the University of Houston now houses Alonso Perales’ papers. Click here to view the digital collection.
Watch a promo for MACRI's exhibit below:
