Lupe Anguiano (born 12 March 1929) is an American
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 ...
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
known for her work on women's rights, the rights of the poor, and the protection of the environment.
She is credited with bringing religious support and helping reframe religious debates to include these nationwide issues.
Biography
Anguiano was the fourth of six children born to a
Mexican-American
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
migrant family who moved from
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
between May and December to harvest fruit, vegetables and nuts.
She earned a master's degree in administration and education from
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...
.
Anguiano joined
Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters from 1949 to 1964. She chose the order for their reputation being advocates for the poor. She left the church after joining picket lines and protesting a prospective law set out by the California Association of Realtors to reverse the 1963
Rumford Fair Housing Act
California Proposition 14 was a November 1964 initiative ballot measure that amended the California state constitution to nullify the 1963 Rumford Fair Housing Act, thereby allowing property sellers, landlords and their agents to openly discrim ...
, which banned racial discrimination by landlords.
Anguiano went on to work with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1965. She also consulted with government agencies and testified before state and national legislative bodies. She worked with
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 merg ...
, and in Michigan where she led the grape boycott of 1965. After leaving her post in the government, she focused on the welfare system as a result of becoming “angry at the way in which the system traps young, healthy, and intelligent women; makes them dependent on welfare; destroys their pride and their willingness to work; and keeps them living always under the poverty level.”
In 1973, her disillusionment led her back to San Antonio where she became national organizer for the
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...
and founded the National Women’s Employment & Education Inc, which helps single female parents move beyond welfare poverty.
She is a founding member of the
National Women's Political Caucus
The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), or the Caucus, describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices at all ...
, along with
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Steinem was a c ...
and
Bella Abzug
Bella Savitzky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steine ...
, and has worked on behalf of the
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
. Anguiano was a delegate to the historic "First Women's Conference" in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
in 1977, where she,
Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television and film.
Stapleton was best known for playing Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Arc ...
, and
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she ...
read the "Declaration of American Women."
In 1996, Congress passed landmark welfare reform legislation that contained many of her ideas.
She currently volunteers at the California Coastal Protection Network, the Pacific Environment, and other environmental organizations.
Her papers are housed at the
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was founded in 1969 to foster multidisciplinary research efforts at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It is one of four ethnic studies centers established at UCLA that year, all of whic ...
.
In 2007, she was designated a
Women's History Month
Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with ...
Honoree by the
National Women's History Project
The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. The NWHA was formerly known as the National Women's History Project. Based out of Santa Rosa, California sinc ...
.
Awards
* 35th California Assembly District Woman of the Year
* President’s Volunteer Award, 1983
* Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project, 2007
References
Further reading
*
External links
National Women's Political CaucusNational Women's History ProjectOpening of the Lupe Anguiano Archive at UCLA Celebrates a Life Devoted to Social JusticeLupe Anguiano Biography Announcement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anguiano, Lupe
1929 births
Living people
American feminists
American trade union leaders
People from Oxnard, California
Roman Catholic activists
American anti-poverty advocates
Trade unionists from California
American women trade unionists