Jesus Gonzales, Jr. ran for the 11^th senate district in Michigan in 1950. He garnered 126 votes: 10 in Lapeer County, 97 in Macomb County, and 19 in St. Clair County.

What makes this early candidacy so intriguing is that Gonzales ran as one of only three candidates in the state who were part of the Progressive Party.

The third party ran Henry Wallace for president two years earlier, in 1948, at which time it organized Amigos de Wallace as way of reaching into the Latino community.

The author is seeking information on Jesus Gonzales, Jr., his 1950 legislative campaign, and the Progressive Party outreach to Latinos in the Midwest.

Beginning in 1947, Mexican American members of Los Angeles’ AFL International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) and the CIO United Steel Workers of America (USWA) became active in the newly formed Catholic Labor Institute (CLI).

City Councilman Edward Roybal and Monsignor Thomas O'Dwyer c. 1950.

The CLI was sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles during the final days of Archbishop John Cantwell, an Irish-born New Dealer.

The CLI supported organized labor in dealing with unfair employers, encouraged companies to respect the collective bargaining process, and trained Catholics to become more active in their unions.

The CLI was political on several levels.

First, it assumed controversial positions on issues of public policy. Most significantly, the CLI director, Father Thomas Coogan, used the 1947 Labor Day Mass at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral to blast the Taft-Hartley Bill, recently enacted by Congress over President Truman’s veto. He said the law “denies basic rights of workingmen.” This outraged the conservative Los Angeles Times, but provided instant credibility within the ranks of organized labor. Read the rest of this entry »

Jarrett Barrios is a pioneer as the first Latino in the Massachusetts State House and as the first Spanish-speaker to head a national gay rights advocacy group.

Jarrett Barrios talking with constituents.

Proud of his Hispanic heritage and deep roots in Florida, Barrios describes himself as a “Tampa Cuban” to differentiate himself from the more conservative Cubans based in Miami.

Barrios moved to Cambridge to attend Harvard University, where he became interested in state politics. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1998, Barrios moved to the Senate in 2002, where he served until 2007.

His first bill required hospitals to provide translators. He subsequently helped lead the effort within the state legislature to protect marriage equality.

Barrios became the president of GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in 2009. He travels widely and maintains offices on both coasts.

Harvard Magazine profiled Barrios in 2003; it provides a window into the life of a talented public servant with progressive Hispanic roots.