The Community Service Organization (founded 1947) was an important California Latino

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

organization, most famous for training

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

and

Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizi ...

. It was founded in 1947 by Fred Ross, Antonio Rios and

Edward Roybal Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for thirteen years and of the U.S. House of Representatives for thirty years. Biography Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, into a Me ...

and was a source of political support for Roybal during his long political career. Ross had been hired by

Saul Alinsky Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 – June 12, 1972) was an American community activist and political theorist. His work through the Chicago-based Industrial Areas Foundation helping poor communities organize to press demands upon landlords ...

and was employed by his

Industrial Areas Foundation The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) is a national community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky, Roman Catholic Bishop Bernard James Sheil and businessman and founder of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' Marshall Field III. The IAF p ...

. Community Service Organization, no
Centro CSO
remains active. The group based in Boyle Heights is fighting agains
police killings of Chicanos
the environmental cleanup of

Exide Exide was originally a brand name for batteries produced by The Electric Storage Battery Company and later became Exide Corporation doing business as Exide Technologies, an American multinational lead-acid batteries manufacturing company. It ...

against privatization of education
and fo
legalization of the undocumented
The archives of the Community Service Organization are held at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

as well as at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

in the Library's Special Collections and Archives.

References

External links

CSO ProjectDocumentary: ''Organize! The Lessons of the Community Service Organization''
{{Authority control Mexican-American history Mexican-American culture in California Civil rights organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1947 1947 establishments in California Cesar Chavez