Luisa Moreno facts for kids

Luisa Moreno (born August 30, 1907 – died November 4, 1992) was an important leader in the United States labor movement. She was also a social activist who worked for fairness and rights. Luisa helped workers form unions, led strikes, and wrote helpful guides in both English and Spanish. In 1939, she organized the Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española. This was the first big meeting for Latino civil rights in the United States. She returned to Guatemala in 1950.

Early Life and Education

Luisa Moreno was born Blanca Rosa López Rodríguez in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Her family was very wealthy. She felt that girls faced too many limits on their education. So, she gathered other wealthy young women to form a group called La Sociedad Gabriela Mistral.

This group worked hard to get women accepted into Guatemalan universities. They used petitions and talked to important people to make this happen. When she was 19, Luisa decided to leave her wealthy life behind. She moved to Mexico City to become a journalist and also wrote poetry.

In 1927, she married an artist named Angel De León. They moved to New York City in 1928, and their daughter, Mytyl, was born there.

Standing Up for Rights in New York

In New York, Luisa saw a protest against a movie called Under a Texas Moon. People felt the movie was unfair to Mexicans. Police hurt the protesters, and one person, Gonzalo González, was killed. This event made Luisa want to unite Spanish-speaking communities. She later told her friend Bert Corona that it motivated her to work for change.

Luisa also studied at the Catholic women's university, College of the Holy Names, in Oakland, California.

Leading the Way for Workers

The Great Depression started in 1929. To support her daughter and husband, Luisa worked as a seamstress in Spanish Harlem. She helped her co-workers, many of whom were Latinas, form a garment workers union.

In 1935, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) hired Luisa as a professional organizer. She moved to Florida with her daughter. There, she helped African-American and Latina cigar-rollers form unions.

Joining the CIO and Helping Cannery Workers

Luisa then joined the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). She became a representative for the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA). In 1940, she became the editor of UCAPAWA's Spanish-language newspaper.

As a UCAPAWA representative, she helped organize workers. This included pecan-shelling plant workers in San Antonio, Texas, and cannery workers in Los Angeles. She encouraged workers from different factories to work together. Luisa was a leader who helped other workers, especially women, become leaders in unions.

In 1937, she made her home in the Encanto neighborhood of San Diego. This became her base for activism across the country.

Organizing the Spanish-speaking People's Congress

In 1939, Luisa was a main organizer of El Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española. She worked with Josefina Fierro de Bright and Eduardo Quevedo. Luisa took a year off from UCAPAWA to travel across the U.S. She visited Latino workers and connected with refugees from the Spanish Civil War.

Speaking Out for Migrant Workers

In 1940, Luisa gave a famous speech called the "Caravan of Sorrow." She spoke about the difficult lives of Mexican migrant workers. Parts of her speech were printed in pamphlets, sharing her message widely.

She said that these workers were not outsiders. They had given their hard work and youth to the Southwest. She pointed out they had paid more in taxes than the owners of big farms and companies that used their labor.

That same year, she opened an employment office in San Diego with her friend Robert Galván. She also helped organize cannery workers in San Diego. She convinced employers not to hire workers who crossed picket lines during strikes.

Fighting Discrimination During World War II

During World War II, many defense jobs opened up in the U.S., especially in San Diego. But Mexicans were often not allowed to work in good jobs like in shipyards. They were stuck with the lowest-paying jobs. Luisa spoke out against this unfair treatment.

She said that California became rich because of Mexican immigrants' hard work in farming. She noted that these workers showed true loyalty to a country that would not even give them citizenship or basic rights.

The Sleepy Lagoon Case and Zoot Suit Riots

In 1942, Luisa got involved in the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial. This was a very important case for civil rights activists. She worked with Bert Corona and lawyer Carey McWilliams. They formed the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee to help the young people who were accused.

The Committee wanted to clear the names of the accused. They also wanted to stop rumors about "violent gangs" of Pachucos. The press had called the attacks on Pachucos in 1943 the "Zoot Suit Riots." Luisa also looked into abuses by servicemen in San Diego. She advised city councilperson Charles C. Dail on these issues.

Luisa invited Admiral David W. Bagley to a meeting of community and labor leaders. Bagley did not respond. She kept pushing for an investigation, working with McWilliams to gather evidence. This upset California State Senator Jack B. Tenney. He publicly accused Luisa of being part of an "anti-American conspiracy."

While working on the Zoot Suit campaigns, she continued her labor work. In El Monte, she represented walnut pickers. A representative from the California Walnut Growers Association respected her character and honesty.

Later Activism and Marriage

In 1947, Luisa married Gray Bemis. He was a navy veteran who shared her interest in Mexican American civil rights. He also took many photos of her activities.

In the late 1940s, Luisa started a San Diego chapter of the Mexican Civil Rights Committee. She gave speeches to groups like the Young Progressives of America. She warned that racial tensions and fear of communism led to racial profiling, stereotyping, and police brutality against Mexican Americans and other minority groups.

Deportation and Later Life

In the 1950s, the U.S. government started "Operation Wetback." This program forced many Mexicans and Mexican Americans to leave the country. Labor leaders were often targeted. Luisa was known for being polite and following the law, but her activism made her enemies. She and her husband received threats because they fought against police brutality.

Senator Tenney, who called her a "dangerous alien," played a big role in her deportation. She was offered citizenship if she would testify against Harry Bridges, another labor leader. But she refused, saying she would not be "a free woman with a mortgaged soul."

On November 30, 1950, Luisa and her husband, Gray Bemis, left the United States. They traveled through Ciudad Juárez and slowly made their way to Mexico City. Her deportation order said she had once been a member of the Communist Party.

Eventually, the couple settled in Guatemala. But they had to flee again in 1954. This was when the CIA helped remove the progressive President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán from power.

After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Luisa spent time teaching in Cuba. She later returned to Guatemala. Before she died, several historians interviewed her to learn about her life and work.

Legacy and Recognition

Luisa Moreno was a very important person in the history of the Chicano Movement and the American labor movement. However, her contributions are often not fully recognized. Since the 1970s, activists and historians have worked to share her story and give her the credit she deserves.

Artist and professor Judy Baca honored Luisa in her mural, Great Wall of Los Angeles. This mural shows the history of Los Angeles. It includes Luisa's face surrounded by images of striking workers. Luisa's story has also been featured in the "American Enterprise" exhibit at the National Museum of American History.

See also

In Spanish: Luisa Moreno para niños