81R5339 BGU-D
By: Alonzo H.R. No. 307
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, June 15, 2009, marks 21 years since the passing of
William C. Velasquez, founder of the Southwest Voter Registration
Education Project, and this solemn anniversary offers a fitting
opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of this voting
rights pioneer and revered son of the Lone Star State; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1944, Willie Velasquez graduated from
Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and then attended St.
Mary's University; his dedication to furthering the civil rights of
Hispanic Americans was already evident in his college years; he
helped found the Mexican American Youth Organization while at St.
Mary's and also worked as an organizer for the United Farm Workers
Union in 1966 and 1967; and
WHEREAS, Prominent in a number of groundbreaking Latino
political organizations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr.
Velasquez helped lay the groundwork for the Raza Unida Party, a
political party championing the rights of Mexican Americans, and
for the National Council of La Raza, which has become an important
civil rights and advocacy group; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez focused on Latino participation in
elections as part of his work for the council, and this led to the
founding of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in
1974; uniting behind the slogan Su Voto es Su Voz, "Your Vote is
Your Voice," SVREP set out to educate Hispanics about the
democratic process and urge them to take part in elections, and this
vital work has continued for more than three decades; by conducting
thousands of nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote
campaigns, SVREP has helped bring about a dramatic increase in
Latino voters, with the number of registered Hispanics rising from
2.4 million in the year the organization was founded to 9.8 million
in 2006; the number of Latino elected officials has also greatly
increased, with more than 6,000 Hispanics now holding office
throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez also realized the need for an
organization that could gauge Hispanic public opinion and share
those views with elected leaders; toward that end, he founded the
Southwest Voter Research Institute in 1984; now renamed the William
C. Velasquez Institute, it collects and distributes information on
public policy issues that impact Latino citizens, thereby
amplifying their voice in the dialog of American politics; and
WHEREAS, The untimely death of Mr. Velasquez in 1988 at the
age of 44 was a loss deeply felt throughout the country, but his
legacy lives on; in 1995, President Bill Clinton posthumously
awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest
civilian honor, and he was one of the civil rights figures whose
names were attached to the U.S. Senate version of the Voting Rights
Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006; and
WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez is a figure of great importance for
all Americans committed to the concept of representative democracy;
his efforts to expand the electorate and educate the citizens of the
United States about a range of civic issues were a great and
influential contribution that continues to benefit the State of
Texas and the other states of the Union; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of William C. Velasquez
on June 15, 2009, the 21st anniversary of his death, and commemorate
his record of achievement in furthering the nation's democratic
tradition.