[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1276-E1277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN MEMORIAM OF MALDEF FOUNDER PETE TIJERINA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 17, 2003

  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, 35 years ago Pete Tijerina, a bold and 
idealistic lawyer from, Laredo, Texas, started down a path that 
eventually led millions of Hispanics in this country towards access to 
educational and democratic opportunities and recognition in the eyes of 
the law. Today, it is with great sadness and a profound sense of 
gratitude that I rise to recognize the life of Pete Tijerina, who died 
on May 14, 2003. His legacy is our future.
  As a graduate of St. Mary's Law School in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. 
Tijerina dedicated his career to fighting discrimination. His first 
efforts came as the State Civil Rights Chairman for San Antonio's LULAC 
Council, an organization he joined in 1946. While with the 
organization, he sought political solutions at the local level through 
interaction with school boards, city councils, and police departments. 
Hungry for change, Mr Tijerina grew frustrated with the pace and 
progress of his efforts. He continued, however, to work diligently 
through the channels available to him until he could take no more.
  In 1966, Mr. Tijerina took a bold step. At the time, he was 
representing an injured woman who lost half of her leg in an accident 
in Jourdanton, Texas. Mr. Tijerina prepared his client and his case for 
trial. As trial drew near, it became clear that the court would not 
empanel a single Hispanic juror. He brought the matter to the attention 
of the local judge and was promised a more diverse jury pool.
  When the trial reconvened at the end of that summer, the court 
produced two Hispanic jurors: one had been dead for 10 years and the 
other spoke no Spanish.
  This experience led Mr. Tijerina on a crusade to end juror 
discrimination and secure the equal protection of the law for the 
Hispanic community. Armed with determination and faith in the American 
judicial system, Mr. Tijerina placed his own financial well being on 
the line and attempted to secure funds to protect the rights of 
Hispanics in the Southwestern United States.
  After sending a young colleague to an NAACP convention to learn more 
about current legal tactics used to combat discrimination, Mr. Tijerina 
decided that what the Hispanic community needed was its own lawyers 
fighting its own cases. Because the community varied so much, 
nationwide, he believed that recruiting young Hispanics, who understood 
the unique challenges present in their neighborhoods, into the legal 
profession was crucial to ending discrimination once and for all. Mr. 
Tijerina worked closely with the NAACP to develop a strategy and find 
financial support.

[[Page E1277]]

  His efforts produced the seeds of what would become the Mexican 
American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the first 
national Hispanic legal advocacy program, which Mr. Tijerina founded in 
1968. Over the past 35 years, MALDEF has grown and to this day leads us 
on the path towards legal equality for Hispanics in areas like 
education, employment, and political access.
  Mr. Speaker, it is because of pioneers like Mr. Tijerina and his 
vision for a brighter future for all Hispanics that many of us have had 
the opportunity we enjoy. He helped clear the way for generations of 
Hispanics, so that they would not feel the burden of oppression or fear 
to speak out against injustice. He sought change through our judicial 
system, using our courts as agents of justice.
  It is with our heads bowed and grief in our hearts that we say thank 
you to this pioneer. We can only hope to continue along the path he 
began.

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