Spanish Speaking People's Congress

The Spanish Speaking People’s Congress was a Latino civil rights organization that operated in California and Texas in the 1930s and 1940s. Founded primarily by Guatemalan-born activist Luisa Moreno, the Congress aimed to fight back against attacks from racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and help protect non-citizens from discrimination. During the Congress’s national convention in April 1939, as many as 1,500 representatives from various organizations gathered in Los Angeles to discuss segregation, employment discrimination, women’s rights, and many other Latino civil rights issues. The landmark meeting was the first national Latino civil rights convention of its kind in American history. While the Congress enjoyed some measure of success, its existence ultimately proved short-lived because of pressure from political figures associated with California’s Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities that claimed the organization was communist. Because of these efforts, the Congress ceased to exist by 1950.

Background

The need for an organization like the Spanish Speaking People’s Congress was driven by the many challenges faced by Mexican Americans in the United States during the early twentieth century. America experienced a significant boom in immigration when the Mexican Revolution began in 1910. In the parts of California where Mexican immigrants arrived in search of new homes, citrus and walnut growers saw an opportunity to secure cheap labor. They frequently took advantage of Mexican immigrants’ plight, forcing them to work for little pay under inhospitable conditions. Most of these immigrants lived in extreme poverty while working long hours in the region’s sprawling citrus and walnut industries. The situation grew even more desperate in the 1930s when the Great Depression brought a rash of immigrants to California from Oklahoma and the Midwest. As these new immigrants poured into the state in search of work, Mexican immigrants had to compete with them for the few available jobs.

Mexican Americans faced other serious challenges as well. They were frequently targeted by local chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, with many becoming victims of racially motivated lynchings and other violent attacks. Prospective Mexican immigrants who feared reprisal from the Klan often turned to border-crossing escorts known as coyotes, who provided them with food and shelter during the harsh and sometimes deadly journey to San Diego or Los Angeles in exchange for money. This usually meant that immigrant workers had to give their coyote a monthly share of their already meager paycheck.

Many Mexican immigrants who were lucky enough to survive the treacherous border crossing endured even more difficulties once they reached their destination. For example, in San Diego, most Mexicans were forced to live in deeply impoverished communities isolated from the rest of the city. While some lived in makeshift huts, others survived by taking shelter in collapsed automobiles. Few of these communities had access to public services like police protection or garbage collection.

Overview

By the mid-1930s, it was clear that Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants were in dire need of support from the broader community. To help facilitate that, Latino civil rights activists came together to create an organization that would draw attention to the suffering of Mexican immigrants and provide them with the advocacy they needed. One of these activists was Luisa Moreno. Born in Guatemala in 1906, Moreno immigrated to New York City in 1929. Working as a seamstress, she was horrified by the poor conditions, low wages, and rampant discrimination that she encountered in the garment industry. These experiences led her to become a labor activist and join the Communist Party. Moreno soon found herself becoming a prominent figure in such major labor organizations as the American Federation of Labor (AFL), the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and the Unified Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA). In 1935, Moreno joined with fellow labor activists Josefina Fierro de Bright and Bert Corona in Southern California to create a new organization aimed at addressing the plight of the region’s Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants. Their efforts resulted in the formation of the Spanish Speaking People’s Congress.

Active between 1935 and 1950, the Congress was a civil rights organization that worked to support Latinos in need. During much of its existence, the Congress had chapters throughout California and Texas, reaching its zenith in 1939. In April of that year, the Congress held its first national convention in Los Angeles. As many as 1,500 delegates from more than 120 organizations attended the convention. During the proceedings, the Congress discussed pressing immigration-related issues such as deportation and discriminatory legislation targeting so-called aliens, as well as labor, politics, and other concerns. Importantly, the convention was the first national conference of its kind held in the United States to specifically address challenges faced by the Latino community.

The Congress accomplished a great deal while in operation. Its members actively sought to curb violence and abuse from the Ku Klux Klan and border-crossing coyotes by recruiting support in the Imperial Valley and San Diego and establishing chapters in the region. The Congress also worked to improve living conditions in San Diego. A special Women’s Committee was formed within the Congress in 1937 to help provide care for children with tuberculosis. The Women’s Committee also fought against child labor, called for a minimum wage, demanded legislation that would protect jobholders, and pursued educational reforms. The Congress’s efforts greatly increased public awareness of minority and labor problems in California and Texas and helped make life better for workers in the Latino community.

Despite its successes, the Congress also met with considerable opposition, much of which was rooted in anti-Communist hysteria promoted by political figures such as California State Senator Jack B. Tenney, who led the California Legislature’s Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities. Tenney accused the Congress of being a Communist front and regularly disparaged and harassed its members. Eventually, this political pressure proved too much for the Congress to bear. Left with no other choice, it formally dissolved in 1950, although its legacy lived on long afterwards.

Bibliography

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“Hispanic Heritage Month: Luisa Moreno.” California Labor Federation, 1 Oct. 2021, calaborfed.org/hispanic-heritage-month-luisa-moreno. Accessed 19 June 2023.

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“1938: Spanish Speaking People’s Congress.” Library of Congress, 2023, guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/spanish-speaking-peoples-congress. Accessed 19 June 2023.