Hispanic Heritage Month: Rep. Chuy Garca Remembers Pioneering Activists Rudy Lozano & Bert Corona [View all]

As we mark Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States, Congressmember Jesús "Chuy" García says it's important to celebrate the contributions of activists who fought racial and economic inequality. The Illinois Democrat is the first Mexican immigrant from the Midwest elected to Congress and recently delivered a speech on the House floor to mark the 40th anniversary of the killing of Chicago activist Rudy Lozano, whom García considered a friend and mentor. Lozano was murdered in 1983, after working to build multiracial support for the historic election of Chicago's first Black mayor, Harold Washington. "Activists like Rudy Lozano … were responsible for movements that have empowered Latino, African American, Asian and other discriminated communities over a 40-year span," says García. He also recalls the work of Bert Corona, who started the Mexican American labor organization CASA, which had nationwide chapters that served as organizing hubs and protested the Vietnam War.