1. Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales was a Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist.
25 Facts About Rodolfo Gonzales
1. 2.
Rodolfo Gonzales was one of many leaders for the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado.
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Rodolfo Gonzales tried again in March 1969, and established what is commonly known as the First Chicano Youth Liberation Conference.
4.
Rodolfo Gonzales was honored with a Google Doodle in continued celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States on October 1,2021.
5.
Rodolfo Gonzales was born the youngest of Federico and Indalesia Gonzales's eight children in Denver, Colorado in 1928.
6.
Rodolfo Gonzales's father had immigrated to Colorado at an early age from Chihuahua, Mexico.
7.
Federico Rodolfo Gonzales imparted his knowledge to his son, a struggle that culminated in the Mexican Revolution.
8.
Rodolfo's mother, Indalesia Gonzales, died when Rodolfo was two years old; his father never remarried.
9.
Rodolfo Gonzales's siblings were raised in Denver's tough "Eastside Barrio", where the Great Depression took an even heavier toll on Mexican Americans.
10.
Rodolfo Gonzales attended high schools in Colorado and New Mexico while simultaneously working in the beet fields, and graduated from Manual High School at the age of 16.
11.
Rodolfo Gonzales had a successful professional boxing career and at one time was ranked as a top three Featherweight by Ring Magazine.
12.
Rodolfo Gonzales retired from the ring in 1955 after compiling a record of 63 wins, 11 losses, and 1 draw.
13.
Rodolfo Gonzales was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
14.
When Rodolfo Gonzales turned to politics, he was ranked the 5th best boxer in the world.
15.
Rodolfo Gonzales believed strongly in the power of educating the people around him, and bringing the Chicano community together to hear one another's voices.
16.
Rodolfo Gonzales took the ideas developed through the Crusade and implemented them at a personal level, making it into the political force it became.
17.
Rodolfo Gonzales had the courage, confidence, and ability to inspire greatness within the entire Chicano community.
18.
Rodolfo Gonzales became co-founder of a new political party, focused intensively on the rights of Mexican-American people.
19.
Rodolfo Gonzales believed the only way to meet the goals created by the Crusade within the political world, was through the creation of a third political party.
20.
Rodolfo Gonzales' found a private school in 1971 as a solution to the issues within the public education system.
21.
Some scholars have credited Rodolfo Gonzales with authoring this historicized, politicized definition of what it is to be a "Chicano".
22.
Rodolfo Gonzales's granddaughter is Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, a member of the Colorado House of Representatives.
23.
Rodolfo Gonzales recognized that if the goals of the Chicano movement were to be met, activism within the Chicano community needed to be led by those who were impacted by the injustices experienced, and so action towards creating a movement from within the Chicano community started to take form.
24.
Rodolfo Gonzales made sure to lead with strength of character and humility, and encouraged his fellow activists to do the same.
25.
Rodolfo Gonzales knew that the Crusade was being watched closely by the FBI and even the mafia, Chicanos were often mislabeled, and their motives and tactics were demonized by the media.