Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez - Essay Example

Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales A boxer, and Chicano political activist. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales was born on June 18, 1928 in Denver (Historycolorado.org). His father, Federico Gonzales migrated to Denver from Chihuahua, Mexico. Rodolfo is the youngest of a brood of eight. His mother died when he was only two years old, leaving his father to take care of the family by his lonesome. Theirs was a poor family; thus, even at a young age they were forced to work in the sugar beet and potato fields in Colorado (Ingen).

In 1944, Rodolfo finished high school from Denver’s Manual High School. Because of financial difficulties, he only completed one term in engineering at the University of Denver (Ingen). After dropping out in college, he pursued a career in boxing which saw him fighting seventy-five times in the featherweight division (Historycolorado.org). After boxing, Rodolfo entered politics, running for Colorado State Representative but he lost. In the mid 1960’s, he founded the Crusade for Justice, an urban civil rights and crusade movement which advocated Chicano nationalism (Democracynow.org). In 1967, he once again ran for political office this time for Mayor of Denver but lost again.

In 1968, he led the Poor People’s March to Washington, D.C. which called for better housing, education, business and restitution of pueblo lands in the barrios (Escuela Tlatelolco). Another important contribution of Rodolfo is his creation of the Annual Chicano Youth Liberation Conference, which aims to create greater unity among Chicano youth (Escuela Tlatelolco). Aside from being a boxer and an activist, Rodolfo was a writer too. One of his famous works is “I am Joaquin”, a poem published in 1967, which depicted the Chicano culture and identity.

Rodolfo died on April 12, 2005 due to heart failure. He is best remembered as a civil rights advocate who fought for injustice, racism and for the rights of the Mexican Americans in the United States.ReferencesDemocracynow.org. "Chicano leader Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales 1929-2005: "He was the fist. He stood for defiance, resistance"." 15 April 2005. democracynow.org. Web. 14 May 2013 .Escuela Tlatelolco. "Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales: 1928-2005." 2013. escuelatlatelolco.org. Web. 14 May 2013 .Historycolorado.org. "Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales." n.d.

historycolorado.org. Web. 14 May 2013 .Ingen, Linda Van. "Gonzales, Corky (b.1928)." 2011. plainshumanities.unl.edu. Web. 14 May 2013 .