To put the origin of our organization in perspective, one has to look back to the groundbreaking civil rights lawsuits in the 1950’s (e.g., Brown v. The Board of Education) and the civil rights protests that were taking place on college campuses and elsewhere in the early 1960’s, which eventually led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In this same vein, in the early 1970’s the California La Raza Lawyers Association was formed by Cruz Reynoso, the then Executive Director of California Rural Legal Assistance, Mario Obledo, the then General Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), and the late Louis Garcia, then a Municipal Court Judge in San Francisco.  Rodrigo Mayorga, an attorney in Sacramento, followed in their footsteps and became the President of the state-wide organization in 1973.  As we all now know, Cruz Reynoso would later become a California Supreme Court Justice and Mario Obledo would later serve as Secretary for the California Department of Health and Welfare under Governor Jerry Brown. 

            During the 1970’s, the state-wide organization actively urged the formation of local chapters in counties throughout the state.  Eventually, the statewide organization led to the formation of the La Raza National Lawyers Association.  As best we can tell, our local association was originally formed as a chapter of the national La Raza Lawyers organization, and therefore our association used the name “La Raza National Lawyers Association of Sacramento”.  But when the national organization changed its name to the Hispanic National Bar Association in 1982, our local association dropped the “National” designation and changed its name to “La Raza Lawyers Association of Sacramento”.  As stated in the Bylaws, the La Raza Lawyers Association of Sacramento (LRLA) was formed with the following purpose:

     1.   To provide a forum for communication among attorneys                   interested in promoting the professional advancement of Hispanic lawyers and the social and civic advancement of the Hispanic community.
     2.  To provide a mechanism for concerted action in support of the          cultural values, economic interests and social dignity of the Hispanic community.
     3.    To maintain the technical skills of Hispanic attorneys through sponsorship and promotion of legal education programs.
     4.    To do all other things necessary and appropriate for the advancement of these purposes and the welfare of its members.

            The La Raza Lawyers Association chapter in Sacramento was formed by former members of La Raza Law Students who attended the McGeorge School of Law and the University of California-Davis School of Law School in the 1970’s.  Motivated by attending conferences in Los Angeles, these law students became activists in law school and formed long-lasting friendships.    Anthony Oropeza believes the first president may have been the late Alfonso Gonzalez following his graduation from the University of California-Berkley School of Law.  Anthony recalls the small group meeting at various local restaurants and taking on important issues affecting the Latino community. 

            For example, following a mass arrest of young Latinos at a party in Woodland, members of our association were each assigned a defendant because of concerns about wrongful arrests and civil rights violations.  Anthony's client was acquitted following a vigorous trial prosecuted by former prosecutor and now retired Judge, William LeBov.  On another occasion, our members also publicly challenged a sitting judge for alleged inappropriate racial remarks made about Mexicans at a semi-public event.  This small group of lawyers also provided guidance and leadership for new Latino lawyers seeking employment or who wanted to work constructively to improve justice and equality for the Hispanic community.

            Over time our association has participated in numerous efforts to achieve its stated purpose.  For example, our association has remained vigilant in monitoring the hiring practices by both the local District Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office, and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.  With time, our association’s political stature grew.  In 1990, when the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors was considering candidates to appoint to the District Attorney position vacated by then D.A. John Dougherty, candidates Steve White and Kate Canlis both personally appeared before our association to ask for our endorsement. 

            Our association has also been active in pressing for parity in judicial appointments by meeting regularly with the appropriate legal affairs adviser for the sitting Governors, including, (now Justice) Anthony Kline,  Byron Georgiou,  (now Supreme Court Justice) Marvin Baxter, (now Judge) Burt Pines, and Sharon Majors Lewis.   In this same vein, the association was very active in promoting the appointment of Cruz Reynoso to the California Supreme Court, and the appointments of Ed Garcia, Raul Ramirez, and John Mendez to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. [For more on the history of appointments of Latino Judges, see the article “2009 La Raza Installs New Officers”.  The article contains a summary of a speech delivered by Judge David De Alba about the history of Hispanic appointments to the Sacramento Superior Court.]

            Immigration issues have also been very important over the years.  Our association publicly challenged the U.S. Justice Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Regional Director and U.S. Border Patrol to cease and desist in the practice of “open-field” raids on farms and ranches following the drowning and death of several farm workers who were recklessly and negligently chased into dangerous waterways by U.S. Border Patrol agents.  That practice was stopped with the help of Mike Castro, former newspaper reporter with the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee, who worked closely with our association to bring national attention to the practice of using waterways as barriers during unannounced INS raids. 

            In years past, our members have also been active in participating in local government and local affairs.  Emily Vasquez (now Judge Vasquez) was appointed to the Sacramento Regional Transit Board by Mayor Ann Rudin in 1984 and served until 1992, and was Chairwoman of the Board in her last year. Also, Gabriel Vivas routinely appeared on radio talk shows; and he and Gilbert Roque and other members regularly appeared live on Channel 13’s Progreso television program to answer legal questions from the audience.  Challenging as it was, this show gave our organization good visibility and served a critical need for the Hispanic community. 

            In 1989, at the urging of then City Councilman Joe Serna, Jr., LRLA President Gabriel Vivas encouraged our members to become active advocates in local government.  Larry Duran served as LRLA’s City Council Liaison and appeared regularly before the Council to present La Raza views on issues such as low-income housing, the ban on semiautomatic weapons, and police sweeps on the homeless.  Mayor Rudin later appointed Duran to the Sacramento Police Advisory Committee; and she appointed Ernesto Perez to the Sacramento Affirmative Action Advisory Committee.  Other members also filled positions on local boards and commissions.  Miguel Martín was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Sacramento County Board of Education; and Luís Céspedes was appointed to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission.  Also, Melinda Guzmán was appointed to the Yolo County Regional Planning and Transportation Committee.
 
            Our association has also participated in humanitarian aid efforts.  On numerous occasions our members raised funds for earthquake victims in Mexico and other Latin American countries.  Closer to home, our members also provided monetary aid and in-kind assistance to the earthquake victims in Watsonville following the earthquake in 1989.  Rodrigo Mayorga, Louie Romero, Jesus Genera, and Israel Valdez hauled truckloads of food and toys to families in the area.  In addition, Rebecca Gonzales led a group of bilingual attorneys to assist the earthquake victims.

            Throughout the years, LRLA presidents have regularly invited notable guest speakers to address current issues for our members.  This has included former U.S. Attorney (now retired federal judge) David Levi, and former U.S. Attorneys Herman Sillas and Chuck Stevens, and District Attorney (now Superior Court Judge) Steve White.  In addition, our association has always taken advantage of its presence in the state capital by inviting state officials as luncheon speakers, such as former Attorney General John Van De Kamp and many legislators (e.g., Assemblymembers Richard Polanco and Dave Jones, State Senator Debora Ortiz, and U.S. Representatives Robert Matsui and Vic Fazio).  In addition, many judges such as federal judge Ed Garcia, former federal judge Raul Ramirez, and Superior Court Judge David De Alba, as well as law school deans and law professors have also addressed our members.

            Over the years, our members have spread their wings beyond our local organization.  As mentioned above, Rodrigo Mayorga was President of the California La Raza Lawyers Association in 1973.  In addition, Tony Nevarez was the state-wide President in the mid 1990’s, and Alberto Gonzalez took on that leadership role in 2008.  Also, in the mid 1980’s,  Luís Céspedes joined with now retired judge Renard Shepard of the Wilely Manuel Bar Association and Jerry Chong of the Asian Bar Association, to form the Unity Bar, a coalition of local minority bar associations.  Today, that coalition is still thriving and also includes the Women Lawyers of Sacramento, SAC-Legal, and the South Asian Bar Association.

            As this brief history shows, our association and its members have remained faithful to achieving our stated purpose.  In addition to our community activities, we have continuously strived to provide mentoring for law students and young attorneys.  Today many of our members have gone on to become judges: Judges Ed Garcia, Lorenzo Patiño, Ben Díaz, Raul Ramirez, Mike Garcia, John Mendez, Dave De Alba, Emily Vasquez, Jaime Román, Sharon Lueras, and Commissioner Ana Bravo.  One member, Rep. Xavier Beccera, even went on to become elected to the state Assembly and later to the U.S. Congress.  Finally, let us not forget the notable achievements of our elder statesmen, the Honorable Cruz Reynoso and Mario Obledo, who are both recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton.

[This history of the La Raza Lawyers Association of Sacramento derives in part from an oral history as related by Luís Céspedes from the collective memories of a few remaining “La Raza founding fathers”, Rodrigo Mayorga, Anthony Oropeza, and Gilbert Roque, who were present when the organization was being formed.  That account is supplemented by information gleaned from correspondence and newsletters found in the historical files of David De Alba and Larry Duran.]