Introduction Bert Coron

This is a research paper that analyzes the life and contributions of Bert Corona in his fight and life as a political activist. The research paper is to tackle keenly and step by step the life of this well composed man, a political activist, and above all a man who never at one point of his eighty-years never backed down, Corona acted as an eye-opener to many and has left a living legacy as an organizer of many workers unions in America. Introduction Bert Corona was born on the 29th day of May 1918 to Neo Corona his father and Margarita Escapite Salayandia his mother, his father was a commander in the Francisco villa during his birth.

Berth during the whole of his life was recognized as American labor leaders and the civil rights activists. It is recorded that during his entire life his contributions were recognized in his work with very many major Latino organizations and as the founder of very many civil rights and labor organizations. In his career as he was reorganized as the old man and fought tirelessly for the rights of the immigrants. (http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_8_65/ai_76697709)

Bert Corona enrolled in a school at an early age, he had a very good command of English Which gave him n upper hand above some of his classmates, while in school, his experience with racism started here, this is when some of his fellow students were punished inhumanly by washing their mouths with soaps for speaking their own languages, but because of his command in English he was spared. When his mother heard of this she publicly objected to such treatments and took him from that school to a boarding school in. (Garcio, 1994)

His activist life started early in life and the first one took place when he was in the fifth grade at Harvard boys school, this was when their history teacher always gave poor and wrong ides against the Mexican student in the Harvard school. The students organized a strike which made the teacher to apologize (Garcio, 1994). Immediately Corona cleared his primary school Corona Joined El Pasio High school where he was playing basketball , after clearing his high school he was lucky to get an athletic Scholarship to the University of southern Carolina.

Here he was lucky to get a full time employment because of His experience in the drug store back at home and also because of the nature of the scholarship which allowed him to work. At the university Corona studied commercial law and met different people which made him to spring to blossom. It is at the work place- Brunswick Pharmaceutical Company where he got the real taste of labor and had his first attempt to organize and train workers on their rights. (Rosales , 2000) Brunswick Pharmaceutical Company employees were mostly Mexican American immigrants.

The workers had not known or joined any union and because of this faced a lot of frustrations as low wages, long hours of work, poor working conditions and racism. When Corona joined this company with his good command in English, experience in the field and his activism nature he realized these problems and when Longshoremen’s Union decided to recruit workers supported the recruitment of over 2500 workers and the same year led them to a strike to demand wage payment increase.

After the farm workers strike which was organized by the Longshoremen’s Union and facilitated by him the Union asked him to support in the organizing of the warehouse workers of which they started with Brunswick Company. ((Garcio, 1983) When the Company management realized that Corona wanted to organize a Union of for the warehouse workers who were getting half of the pay of warehouse workers in the food industry, the management fired him, this gave him a new dimension to life and he decided to abort his education at the expense of helping the Union.

He abandoned hi college education when he was employed as a union organizer by Harry bridges of the Congress of industrial Organization. As an organizer in the packing department he learned to be very excellent this grew his fame (Rosales, 2000) Corona gained a lot of fame and commanded lot of influence among the Mexican America workers and the undocumented workers. This he gained because his numerous efforts to recruit and support Mexicans everywhere in the United States, this was being driven by his believe that every organization needs a good, strong and steady workers unions.

He continued fighting for the rights and against the mistreatment of the people who ca me from Mexico without the permission of the United States government. By 1965, he became regional organizer for the National Association of Mexican Americans. He gained a reputation for being able to influence Mexican American citizens. Becoming a member of the Northern California Democratic Campaign Committee, Corona actively supported Democratic candidates for two decades (http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/ )

Bert Corona in his life was closely identified with the works of National Mexican Brotherhood (Hermandad Mexicana Nacional,) , this is an organization which proved very much helpful to the immigrants, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional was focused in the organizing of the trade Unions, defending of Undocumented workers and providing social service to this same undocumented workers. Since there were very many undocumented workers who never wanted to protest against the infringement of their rights for fear of being deported.

The organization gave them a base of argument and therefore sprung up to many parts including the Los Angeles. ( Rosales, 2000) The efforts and contributions of Bert Corona were well documented when he realized that most of the Mexican American workers did not know how the US law protected them he organized to them a good package on how the law protected them. He is also being remembered for his protest against some of the of the striker Immigrant laws, which wanted the employers to be responsible and liable for employing immigrants.

(http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/ ) Corona more than any other person, furthered the ideological struggle against the nativity and this he did during his public lectures and programs where he always preached the need of unity and oneness. One such was a meeting in which he had with students and the public where he launched the program to campaign against bills that would crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants and to fight for humane immigration policies and practice.

( http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/6201. php) Until his death in 2001, he was the chairman Hermandad Mexicana Nacional Los Angles Chapter and is more effort have been made towards the delivery of the Mexican American from their oppression state in the United States. He participated actively as an activist, union organizer and an educator. (http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/6201. php) Works Cited Francisco Arturo Rosales (2000) Testimonio: A Documentary History of the

Mexican American Struggle for Civil Rights: Arte Publico Press Garcio T. Mario (1994) Memories of Chicano The Life and narrative of Bert Corona. University of California Press Garcio T. Mario and Et al (1983). History Culture and Society: Chicano studies in the 1980 . Bilingual Press http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/6201. php Retrieved on the 16th July 2008 http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_8_65/ai_76697709 Retrieved on the 16th July 2008.