The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics

Latinos began to emerge politically in the 1930s as part of President Franklin Roosevelt s New Deal Democratic coalition, and union organizing. The number of Latino voters in California expanded dramatically during the years 1948 to 1960, as a result of the extraordinary leadership of the Community Service Organization (CSO). The CSO also provided a training ground for a generation of Latino leaders. They include Congressman Edward Roybal, UFW cofounders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, and National Council of La Raza (NCLA) heads Herman Gallegos and Henry Santiestevan. The son a CSO member, Carlos McCormick, served as the architect of Viva Kennedy in 1960. He then became President John F. Kennedy s Latino liaison, working with CSO, GI Forum, LULAC, and the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA). The Search for a Civic Voice focuses on the 1930s to the 1960s, with the final two chapters linking these early developments to the present. The book chronicles the struggle for political power while telling the story of individual activists who broke racial barriers. "Kenneth Burt understands the convergence of social movements and partisan politics," writes Dolores Huerta.