History: 

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales was born on June 18, 1928 in Denver, Colorado. Corky was a Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist and was also well known for being part of the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado. Because of his prowess as a boxer, he was known as the “fist” of the movement.

The Crusade for Justice was an Urban rights and Chicano cultural urban movement during the 1960s focusing on social, political, and economic justice for Chicanos.  The Crusade  was born out of the growing awareness of the inequality Mexican-Americans were experiencing in their daily lives within the United States. 

cont...

Originally a multi-issue, broad-based civil rights organization which oriented toward nonviolence, it came to symbolize Chicano self-determination and espoused a strong nationalist ideology that militant youth found extremely attractive. Due to the growing awareness within the Chicano community of the injustices they experienced within all layers of society, organizations and outreach programs participated in the development of the Crusade.

Impact on Society:

Corky became a leader in the Chicano Movement. He founded the Crusade for Justice, led a group in the Poor People’s March on Washington, and organized a resistance at West High School after a teacher made racist comments. Corky also helped to create the Ballet Chicano de Atlan and El Teatro Pachuco. He opened a summer school in 1969 and the Escuela Tlatelolco in 1970 for Chicano children. Rodolfo Gonzales pursued creative writing throughout his life. He wrote a famous poem “Yo Soy Joaquin” or “I am Joaquin” which was published in 1967. This poem became a bright idea in the Chicano Movement and has been quoted in protest literature, published in plays, and reprinted in several editions.  In 1966 Corky Gonzales founded the Crusade for Justice, a grassroots cultural center and civil rights organization that also hosted conferences for youth across the country. In 1969 the Crusade for Justice summer freedom school 

became Escuela Tlatelolco, a bilingual school fostering empowerment and cultural pride. 

At the First National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference hosted by Escuela Tlatelolco, Gonzales’s text the “Spiritual Plan of Aztlán” (El Plan de Aztlán) was produced and adopted as the manifesto of the Chicano Movement. This document presented a clear ideology of Chicano self-determination and cultural liberation, encouraging Chicanos to better their communities by “controlling and developing [their] own talents, sweat, and resources” and by embracing “values which ignore materialism and embrace humanism.”

During the 1960s, Corky Gonzales worked and marched with César Chávez, founder of the United Farm Workers, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1968, working with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Gonzales led the 

 Southwestern Contingent of the Poor People’s Campaign. This campaign addressed economic justice, and he also organized the Poor People’s March in Washington, DC.

 Joining a group of American Indians led by Reies Lopez Tijerina, Gonzales helped lead 1,000 Chicano and Native American activists in the march. 

In 1969 Gonzales helped organize the student walkout at Denver’s West High School that sought to hold school administrators accountable for not firing a teacher who used racist language in a class discussion. During the three-day walkout, a protest rally became a violent battle between students and police armed with riot equipment, who reportedly attacked students and protesters. Twenty-five people were jailed, including Gonzales and twelve juveniles, and many were injured. Gonzales was later acquitted of all charges.

Corky Gonzales is remembered as a hall-of-fame athlete, as a founder 

of Chicano literature, as “the fist” of the Chicano Movement, and as a voice against all forms of social injustice.

VIDEOS: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DFQgId6mDA 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDsTELEAL3A