1. LULAC MILESTONES
1929: LULAC is founded in Corpus 1948: LULAC protested the non- than 20,000 students a year through
Christi, Texas when the Sons of burial of veteran Felix Longoria of its 16 educational service centers.
America, the Knights of America and Three Rivers, Texas and assisted in
the Latin American League merge. his burial at Arlington National
1975: LULAC forms a Scholarship
Fund to centralize its scholarship gifts
Cemetery.
1930’s: LULAC desegregated which dated back to 1932.
hundreds of public places throughout 1950s: LULAC and the American
Texas such as barber shops, beauty G.I.Forum filed fifteen school
1980s: LULAC filed numerous
shops, swimming pools, parks, rest lawsuits with MALDEF and the
desegregation suits in Texas.
rooms, public dining places and hotels. Southwest Voter Registration and
1954: LULAC lawyers took the Education Project calling for single
1931: LULAC provided the Hernandez vs State of Texas to the member districts.
organizational and financial base for Supreme Court, winning the right for
the Salvatierra vs Del Rio Independent 1980s: LULAC fought to get better
Mexican Americans to serve on juries.
School District case, the first class coverage of Latinos in the media.
action lawsuit against segregated 1957: LULAC Council 60 piloted
the “Little School of 400”, a pre-school
1986: LULAC took the lead in
“Mexican Schools” in Texas.
defining a Mexican American position
class dedicated to teaching 400 basic
1933: LULAC formed a committee in the 1986 Immigration and Reform
English words to Spanish-dominant
in San Antonio which led to the Act.
pre-school children.
formation of the Liga Defensa Pro-
Escolar, later known as the School 1960s: LULAC worked to transform 1986: LULAC lobbied the Texas
Senate Subcommittee holding
Improvement League, which fought for the Little School of 400 to the
hearings on English Only and was
better schools and better education. Headstart Program under the Johnson
successful in stopping the resolution
Administration.
1936: LULAC pressured the U.S. from coming out of the committee.
Census Bureau to reclassify and 1965: LULAC Council 60 begins a 1989: LULAC filed the LULAC vs
designate persons of Mexican descent job placement center in Houston which
Mattox lawsuit which challenged the
from “Mexican” to “white”. The 1940 leads to the federally funded SER
selection of judges throughout urban
Census reflected the change. (Service Education, and
Texas.
Redevelopment).
1940s: LULAC played a major role 1990: LULAC filed the LULAC vs
in filing discrimination cases for the 1966: LULAC marched with and
Clements lawsuit which challenged the
Federal Employment Practices financially supported the United Farm
allocation of funds to Texas
Commission, the first federal civil Workers in their struggle for minimum
Universities.
rights agency. wages and dignity.
1966: LULAC and the American 1998: LULAC filed a brief in
1945: LULAC successfully sued to support of sampling techniques for the
integrate the Orange County School G.I. Forum joined forces to organize
2000 Census.
System, that had been segregated on SER, now the largest workpower
the grounds that Mexican children program in the nation aimed at the 2003: LULAC attorneys settled
were “more poorly clothes and Latino population. “LULAC vs INS” lawsuit that provides
mentally inferior to white children”. an avenue for 100,000 immigrants to
1968: LULAC created the Mexican
become permanent legal residents.
1946: LULAC Council in Santa American Legal and Defense Fund
Ana, California worked with Attorney (MALDEF), now the legal arm of the 2006: LULAC wins Supreme Court
David Marcus to file the Mendez vs Latino community. LULAC vs Perry lawsuit against Texas
Westminister lawsuit which ended 100 challenging its redistricting plan on the
years of segregation in California’s 1967-1969: LULAC sponsored
grounds that it violated the Voting
public schools and becomes a key 2,000 household units in conjunction
Rights Act of the Latino community,
precedent for Brown vs Board of with federal housing program to serve
Education. the low-income. 2008: LULAC wins the LULAC vs
Texas Democratic Party lawsuit
1947: LULAC Council #1 facilitated 1970: LULAC took a part in the
arguing the Party’s “Two Step” system
the formation of the American G.I. Cisneros vs Corpus Christi I.S.D.,
discriminates against Latino voters by
Forum. which defined Mexican Americans as
giving them fewer delegates.
a minority group for the first time.
1948: LULAC attorneys filed the LULAC Historical Chronology by:
Delgado vs Bastrop I.S.D. lawsuit 1973: LULAC formed the LULAC Cynthia E. Orozco. Ph.D. and
which legally ended the segregation of National Education Service Centers Ray Mancera, Immediate Past
Mexican American children in Texas. (LNESC) to advance the education LULAC National VP for the SW.
needs of Latinos. Today it serves more