Call to Action
In the 1920s, Texas saw many different civic groups representing people of Mexican/Latin-American descent, but three played a key role in civil rights organizing: The Knights of America, The League of Latin American Citizens and The Order of the Sons of America. Through the efforts of Alonso Perales in 1929, along with those of M.C. Gonzales, J.L. Saenz, B. Garza, J.T. Canales, and a few select others, these three organizations were unified to create what is now known as, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Founded on the principle for the “Advancement of the Latino Community in the United States,” LULAC is one of the oldest and most well-respected Hispanic civil rights organization in Texas and the United States (“About Us”). Perales served as president of LULAC from 1930 – 1931. The draft constitution for the original formation of LULAC can be found in the Collection.
In addition to his work with LULAC, Perales was a US Diplomat. Beginning in the 1920s and proceeding into the 1930s Perales participated in thirteen diplomatic missions to Latin America, serving on assignments to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile and the West Indies (Orozco). In the 1940s, and around World War II, Perales witnessed the discrimination faced by the Mexican American community, including US soldiers of Mexican descent coming back from the war. Perales felt compelled to act in response to the egregious treatment that his community members received in schools, restaurants, movie theaters, and other public establishments in the state of Texas and the United States. The Alonso S. Perales Digital Collection includes many examples of this discrimination in the form of affidavits that provide detailed accounts of what these soldiers faced.
In 1945 Perales served as legal counsel to the Nicaraguan delegation during the United Nations Conference on International Organizations in San Francisco (Orozco). Breaking with tradition, the Nicaraguan officials appointed Alonso S. Perales, an American, as one of the distinguished delegates present during the much-publicized signing of the United Nations Charter.
Images can be found in the Collection related to some of Perales’ accomplishments and family life.
