Guest Column

Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez

April 4, 2005

“If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

            To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

            Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"”

            From “If” by Rudyard Kipling

"Corky" Gonzales has recently been released from a Denver, Colorado hospital after being diagnosed with a serious liver disease. Physicians have suggested to the Gonzales family that they prepare for the difficult days ahead, and have suggested that they consider making arrangements for his final days.

According to the Dean of Chicano Studies, Dr. Rudy Acuña of Cal-State Northridge, "Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, was the most influential Chicano leaders of the Chicano civil rights movement in the period of the late 1960s-1970's, especially among Chicano students, youths and among those in the barrios. In his book, Occupied America, Acuña says that "Corky" Gonzales "came up the hard way--with his fists. A Golden Gloves champion who turned pro, he was a feather-weight contender for the championship from 1947 to 1955. Later, he became a bail bondsman. In the 1960s, he worked within the Democratic Party of Denver and in 1965 became a director of one of the War on Poverty's youth programs. He founded the Crusade for Justice, a community-based organization that emphasized total family involvement. His epic poem, "I Am Joaquin/Yo Soy Joaquin" is probably the most influential piece of Chicano Movement literature ever written. Its impact is immeasurable and Luis Valdez of the Teatro Campesino has produced it into a well-known Chicano Movement film, also called "Yo Soy Joaquin".

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, along with Reies Lopez Tijerina, Jose Angel Gutierrez, & Cesar Chavez, captured the hearts and minds of millions of Mexican Americans/Chicanos/Latinos, young and old alike, who sought equality and justice in their civil rights struggle for improved opportunities in the areas of education, fair working conditions, a farm workers union, and end to the racism and discrimination against them.

If you wish to send letters and cards directly to Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales to wish him well and to express your thoughts at this time to him and to his family, send them to:

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales
P.O. Box 11432
Denver, Colorado 80211