135:, increased opportunities for adult education with Spanish-speaking teachers, and institutionalizing the teaching of Mexican history and culture. The focus on implementing curriculums that included Mexican history, culture, and major contributions of Mexicans and Mexican Americans was designed to promote intercultural understanding and to fight racist stereotypes of Mexican inferiority. Some concrete educational advancements made by El Congreso included the hiring of more Mexican-American teachers in schools where the majority of students were ethnically Mexican, training sessions on Mexican-American culture for public school teachers, and funding scholarships for Mexican- American high school and college students. El Congreso was unsuccessful in its campaign for bilingual education in Los Angeles schools.
147:, El Congreso set itself apart from other Mexican and Latino civil rights organizations of the time with its advocacy for women’s rights. Approximately 30% of El Congreso’s membership were women, and many held leadership positions besides Moreno and Fierro de Bright. At the second California state convention of El Congreso, it adopted a resolution on gender equality. The resolution acknowledged the double discrimination against Mexican and Mexican American women in the United States based on both their race and gender, and advocated the establishment of Women’s Committees within El Congreso branches to fight for equal wages and to increase voting registration and activity of Mexican American women.
44:, El Congreso promoted a broad agenda of Latino unity that included immigrants living in the United States. In addition to welcoming non-citizens, El Congreso also distinguished itself from LULAC and the American GI Forum with its embrace of the working class. Although the goal of the founders was for El Congreso to become a national organization, during its short existence it was most active and effective in California, with at least 10 branches operating in the greater Los Angeles Area. The organization declined in the mid-1940s under the pressure of
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Mexican districts of
Maravilla Park and Ramona Gardens in Los Angeles to make room for the construction of new low-cost housing. With aid from El Congreso organizers, many Mexican American families (including some Mexican nationals with children who were U.S. citizens) were able to receive higher prices for their homes and were granted access to the new low-cost housing.
106:. In 1939, El Congreso launched a public housing campaign in Los Angeles that focused on neighborhood improvements such as electrification and drainage systems. They also pushed for access to public housing projects for Mexican American families. El Congreso framed this push for housing integration in the language of
73:. Members were encouraged to register to vote and to take active roles in electing candidates who fought for racial equality. And, delegates were asked to keep an internationalist perspective that considered relations across Latin America. Questions still remain regarding the organization's relationship to the
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Although no concrete ties have been found to link El
Congreso with the Communist Party, it was modeled on similar principles to many organizations that comprised the far left leaning “Popular Front” coalition that fought against racial and class oppression. The structure and goals of El Congreso led
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towards Latin
America. To take direct action on this matter, in November 1939 El Congreso hosted a public meeting as a forum where homeowners could discuss the ramifications of an impending federal housing project with state officials. The federal government sought to purchase homes in the largely
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El
Congreso played a central role in successfully opposing several pieces of legislation in California that it viewed as discriminatory against Mexicans or Mexican Americans. In 1939, El Congreso organized a march on the state capitol in Sacramento to oppose a bill known as “the Swing bill” which
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El
Congreso aimed to improve labor conditions and civil rights for Latinos living in the United States, including citizens and immigrants alike. It supported a wide range of campaigns against racial oppression, including support for improving medical care, building federal housing, ensuring fair
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in Los
Angeles. It was attended by delegates from over 100 organizations, representing a combined membership of over 70,000 people. While other civil rights organizations focusing on Latinos in the United States emphasized
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114:, arguing that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right of Mexican American citizens to equal access of the housing projects funded by New Deal programs, and that a denial of this right reflected poorly on
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El
Congreso focused heavily on improving housing conditions for Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, which at the time were largely segregated, overcrowded, and rampant with diseases such as
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wages, and better education. Its emphasis, however, was on working-class people, and many of its leaders and members had close ties to other labor organizations such as the
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organized by the
Communist Party in 1935. Besides these rumored ties to the Communist Party, El Congreso’s involvement with labor organizing and organizations such as the
94:, who ultimately vetoed the so-called “Swing bill”. El Congreso also opposed a failed bill in 1940 that aimed to deport noncitizens who received state welfare.
65:. Resolutions called on workers to join unions, to unite regardless of differences in citizenship status, and to object forced deportations in light of the
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While the importance of women to the foundation and successful operation of El
Congreso is clear through the leadership roles of Luisa Moreno and
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labor and civil rights activists that operated in the 1930s and 1940s. El
Congreso's inaugural meeting on December 4, 1938 was spearheaded by
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managed the day-to-day operations of the southern California chapters. Although the organization did not survive past the
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era, its leaders would remain active in Latino campaigns throughout the 1960s.
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From Out of the Shadows : Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America
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would have made it impossible for noncitizens to receive aid under many
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19:(the Spanish-Speaking People's Congress), commonly referred to as
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Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology, & Identity 1930-1960
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Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology, and Identity, 1930-1960
249:. U.S.: Yale University Press New Haven & London. pp.
324:. United States: The University of Arizona. pp. 205–207.
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Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical Encyclopedia
229:. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 226.
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Workers' rights organizations based in the United States
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In its educational platform, El Congreso advocated for
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leading up to the anti-communist fervor of the 1950s.
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surveillance and suspicion of subversive activities.
356:. United States: Oxford University Press. pp.
423:Hispanic and Latino American culture in California
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196:many to believe that it was patterned after the
408:Civil rights organizations in the United States
322:Race., Place, and Reform in Mexican Los Angeles
306:. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press. p. 110.
90:programs. Josefina Fierro de Bright met with
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225:Vicki Ruiz; Virginia Sánchez Korrol (2006).
403:Hispanic and Latino American organizations
385:. Oxford University Press. pp. 94–98.
304:Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History
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348:Sanchez, George J. (1993).
302:Rosales, F. Arturo (2006).
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352:Becoming Mexican American
243:Garcia, Mario T. (1989).
191:Ties to The Popular Front
177:Josefina Fierro de Bright
145:Josefina Fierro de Bright
198:National Negro Congress
283:Garcia, Mario (1989).
139:Women and El Congreso
81:Legislative Campaigns
381:Ruiz, Vicki (1998).
120:Good Neighbor Policy
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127:Educational Efforts
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