NVC Research Guides: Connecting to Community: San Antonio's West Side : Mexican American Civil Rights Figures

Maria del Rosario "Rosie" Castro

Latinas in the United States : a historical encyclopedia
A comprehensive, historical encyclopedia that covers the full range of Latina economic, political, and cultural life in the United States. "Rosie Castro"
Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD)
Video recording of the "Maria del Rosario “Rosie” Castro" presentation.
Maria del Rosario Castro
Voces Oral History Center - The University of Texas at Austin
MySanAntonio: Rosie Castro has served her hometown her entire life
San Antonians of all ages know of Maria del Rosario “Rosie” Castro for one reason or another, or perhaps many. She’s been a political advocate, with a focus on issues plaguing communities of color, since her undergraduate days at Our Lady of the Lake University.

Willie Velasquez

"Willie Velásquez, a charismatic Mexican American grassroots activist who worked to ensure equal voting rights for Latinos in the United States while also galvanizing Latinos towards participating in the U.S. political process at the local, statewide, and national levels. He founded the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project which worked to expand Latino and Hispanic American interest and participation in the voting process."

Additional Resources

About Willie Velasquez
He envisioned a time when Latinos would play an important role in the American Democratic process. His legacy began in Texas.
How Willie Velásquez Organized for Latino Voting Rights
He became especially known for his rallying cry, 'Su voto es su voz' ('Your vote is your voice').
Library of Congress: 1974: Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
In 1974, William C. Velasquez, a former founding member of MAYO, in San Antonio, Texas established the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP), a nonpartisan organization championing voter participation and political empowerment among Latinxs and other minorities.

Book

Hispanic Civil Rights Series by Juan A. Sepulveda
ISBN: 9781611922066
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Cultural Writing. Biography. Latino/Latina Studies. William C. "Willie" Velasquez, Jr. founded the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP) and was an influential participant in other leading Latino rights and justice groups, including the Mexican American Youth Organization and the Mexican American Unity Council. From teh late 1960s until his untimely death in 1988, Velasquez helped Mexican Americans and other Hispanics become active participants in American political life. Although still insufficiently appreciated, Velasquez holds a unique status in the pantheon of modern American civil rights figures. "Few American leaders have had as much long term impact on a people ot the political system as Willie Velasquez. His efforts at SVREP and elsewhere helped to transform American political democracy and inclusiveness for Hispanic Americans and others in ways that many in American politics are only now beginning to comprehend"--Raul Yzaguirre.