LULAC president and Chicano Movement activist
John James Herrera (April 12, 1910 – October 12, 1986) was an American attorney, activist, and leader in the Chicano Movement .
Early life and education
Herrera was born in Cravens, Louisiana , an unincorporated community in Vernon Parish . His great-great-grandfather was José Francisco Ruiz , a politician and soldier. Herrera was raised in Houston and graduated from Sam Houston High School , where Lyndon B. Johnson was one of his teachers. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the South Texas College of Law Houston . While attending law school, Herrera supported himself by working as a laborer and taxi driver.[ 1]
Career
He joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in 1933 and began practicing law in Houston , Texas in 1943. During World War II , he was involved in the movement to end employment discrimination against Mexican-Americans in Houston shipyards. In 1948 he joined the legal team that brought the school-discrimination case of Minerva Delgado against the Bastrop Independent School District to the Texas Supreme Court . The ruling declared educational segregation of Mexican American students illegal in Texas. In 1954, he authored the briefs for the case of Hernandez v. Texas unconstitutional . The case reached the Supreme Court of the United States , which decided in Hernandez's favor.
Herrera was also a lifelong member of the Democratic Party . He served as president of LULAC from 1952 to 1953, and continued to serve the organization throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He introduced President John F. Kennedy at a speaking engagement before a LULAC assembly on November 21, 1963, the day before his assassination .
Personal life
Herrera died in Houston in 1986. His papers are archived at the Houston Public Library .
Trivia
References
External links
1929–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
