Five members of the Latino higher education movement in the early 1970's to be honored at the Cinco de Mayo Family Festival 2022 including the people of Ukraine.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
May 6, 2022
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Friday, organizers of the annual Cinco de Mayo Family Festival announced that this year, five Latino community higher education activists from the 1970's will be honored on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at the one-day event at the UMOS Corporate grounds, 2701 S. Chase Ave. with a plaque each including the people of Ukraine. Victor Huyke from El Conquistador Newspaper confirmed on Friday that El Conquistador and the United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS) will honor Ernesto Chacon, Jesús Salas, Marla O. Anderson, Roberto Hernández, Dante Navarro including the people of Ukraine with St. Michael's Ukrainian Church receiving a plaque for the people of Ukraine.
Chacon, Salas, Anderson, Hernández and Navarro were instrumental in the early 1970's along with more than 500 members of the Latino and non-Latino community in eliminating the discriminatory barrier that existed, which prevented Latinos from enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). On August 27, 1970, the Latino community including Chacon, Salas, Anderson, Hernández and Navarro took over Chapman Hall at UWM, when then Chancellor Johannes Martin "Joe" Klotsche cancelled a meeting with community activists in regards to allowing Latinos to enroll at UWM. At the time, there were at least 17 Latino students enrolled at UWM compared to 27,000 White students. Five Hispanic community leaders were arrested at Chapman Hall on August 27, 1970, they were Salas, Anderson, Navarro, Gregorio "Goyo" Rivera and José Luis Huerta-Sanchez, according to UWM police records.
"Discriminatory treatment was the norm," cited from Myraid Magazine UWM 1990.
The higher education movement at UWM led to the creation of the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute (SSOI) and it was later renamed as the Roberto Hernández Center in 1996.
Chacon, Salas, Anderson, Hernández and Navarro including other activists continued to struggle for change in Milwaukee including Wisconsin, which led to migrants rights laws to be enforced, Latinos to be allowed to apply for Milwaukee police officer positions including Milwaukee firefighters, which in the late 1960's to early 1970's, there were no Latino police officers or firefighters due to a height requirement that excluded most Latinos. Also, the Latino community community fought for Bilingual education for Milwaukee Public Schools and job opportunities with the Miller Brewing Company including Allen Bradley. The Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) had no Latino employees, but our Latino community and its leadership struggled to influence change that the DMV began to hire Latino bilingual workers.
On August 15, 1970, UMOS organized a 9-day march from Milwaukee to Madison, which on August 24, 1970, the marchers including women arrived in Madison to demand for the abolishment of the trespass law, which prevented UMOS staff to meet with migrant families at farms and to created better housing for seasonal migrants at farms and canning companies they worked at.
The Cinco de Mayo celebration is in recognition of the 160th anniversary of the defeat of the French military in the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 by Mexican pheasants including the Mexican military at the time.
Just in case you didn't know...The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III and French army from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen.
This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the Battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War and united the nation. It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexican pheasants and military who faced an army twice as large in 1862.
In loving Memory and Special Tribute to our dearly departed leaders and community founders/activists
• Juan V. Alvarez
• Marla O. Anderson
• Manuel Ayala
• Miguel Berry
• Danny Campos
• Raul Cano
• Camila Casarez
• Margie Escobar
• Alfonso Flores
• Raul Flores
• Enriqueta Gonzalez
• Gloria Gonzalez
• Irma Guerra
• Loyd J. Guzior
• Roberto Hernández
• Pantaleon Hill
• Manuela Hill
• Dagoberto Ibarra
• Mary Lou Massignani
• Mary Ann McNulty
• Genevieve Medina
• Julia Mendoza
• Dante Navarro
• Patricia Orellana
• Maria Ortega
• Juanita Renteria
• Francisco "Panchillo" Rodriguez
• T. Carlos "Charlie" Salas
• Manuel L. Salas
• Dorothy Torres
• Luis Torres
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