[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  TRIBUTE TO FRANCISCO PANCHO MEDRANO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2002

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to 
commemorate the passing of a great American, a mentor and a friend, Mr. 
Francisco ``Pancho'' Medrano. The nation has lost a legendary civil 
rights pioneer with the death of Mr. Medrano, who dedicated his life to 
eradicating prejudice and intolerance in this country and fought 
mightily for fairness and equality for America's working men and women.
  Mr. Medrano rose to great heights from humble beginnings, defying 
discrimination at every turn along the way. He was a native to Dallas, 
born in 1920 to Mexican immigrants who taught their young son the value 
of hard work as they headed northward to Michigan each year as migrant 
laborers. When Mr. Medrano was able to return to Dallas, he came back 
to a community that refused to let him swim in a public swimming pool 
or watch an evening movie in the park because he was Hispanic. At the 
age of 16, he was told by a school principal he was ``too poor'' to 
attend public schools, so he went to work at a rock quarry for 25 cents 
an hour.
  Soon after, he became one of only a handful of minority workers on 
the line as an aircraft jig builder, where he often had to do a two-
person job by himself because no one would work with a Mexican-
American. And, while at the aerospace plant, he fought prejudice--
literally--as a champion prizefighter who used his notoriety to 
integrate sporting events in Dallas.
  Mr. Medrano had an illustrious five-decade career as a union 
organizer and civil rights representative with the United Auto Workers. 
During his tenure with the UAW, he became a national leader. He marched 
alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, 
fought for fair labor standards on the farms of Texas and California 
with Cesar Chavez, worked tirelessly to advance workers' rights in the 
automobile industry, and spent decades promoting civic activism in the 
Dallas area.
  Yet, for as much as he achieved in his life, Mr. Medrano never forgot 
the inequities of his childhood. He fought for the rights of all 
workers to peaceably demonstrate, broke racial membership barriers in 
labor unions, worked to defeat the poll tax and fostered civic 
participation in the minority community. His keen sense of justice 
caused him to work on behalf of African-Americans with as much fervor 
as he worked on behalf of Mexican-Americans, and his inspirational 
legacy is a challenge to all of us to continue to fight for social and 
economic justice for people of all races.
  Mr. Medrano shared with me a fervent belief in the importance of 
voting rights and civic participation, and it is important that we 
strive to emulate the work that he has done in this area. Just last 
week, though he was desperately ill with the cancer that ultimately 
took his life, Mr. Medrano went to the polls and cast his ballot in the 
Texas Democratic Senate runoff election. He fought to get Dallas 
residents of all races and backgrounds more involved in the political 
process, and he provided support to people like me who dared to cross 
the color lines of Texas politics. Pancho Medrano offered his support 
and counsel when I decided to run for the Texas House of 
Representatives in 1972, he stood by my side when I ran for Texas 
Senate in 1986, and he was a tremendous friend to me when I made my run 
for Congress a decade ago. I couldn't have come this far without him.
  Mr. Speaker, when we think about Pancho Medrano, we think about 
justice, courage and civic activism. His work to end discrimination and 
prejudice has had a profound and lasting effect on the lives of 
millions of Americans, and we will miss him dearly. His death on 
Thursday, April 4th, at the age of 81 is a great loss for the city of 
Dallas, and a great loss for the nation.

                          ____________________