Joseph Hernandez
Joseph Marion Hernandez was born on May 26, 1788 in Augustine, Florida. At his time of birth, Florida will still considered a Spanish colony and it wasn’t until 1822, the territory of Florida was established. Hernandez was elected as a Delegate to the Seventeenth Congress where he served as a Delegate from September 30, 1822 to March 3, 1823. He was the first Hispanic to serve in Congress and the first delegate from the Florida territory. Hernandez was the presiding officer of the Territorial House of Representatives from 1824 to 1825. Joseph Marion served in the United States army in 1835 to 1838. He commanded the expedition in 1837, capturing the Indian Chief Oceloa. He was also appointed Brigadier General of Mounted Volunteers in the war against the Florida Indians in July 1837. Hernandez ran for the United States Senate as a Whig candidate in 1845, but he was defeated. He moved to the District of Coliseo, Cuba and worked at “Audaz,” his family’s sugar estate. There he died, June 8,1857.
Cesar Chavez
Cesar Estrada Chavez was born near Yuma, Arizona on March 31,1927. Cesar grew up as a migrant farm worker in the fields of California and at the age of 19 served two years in the U.S Navy in 1946. While spending most of his life in the fields, he had a first-hand experience of horrible conditions and treatment of the working class. Inspired to speak out against this injustice, Cesar began working as a community and labor organizer in the 1950s. From then on he dedicated his life to improving treatment, pay and working conditions for farm workers. Then in 1962, Chavez founded the National Workers Association. The union collaborated with the Agricultural Farm Workers Association to form the United Farm Workers in 1972. During the 1980s, Chavez led marches, called for boycotts, and went on several hunger strikes to bring awareness to the dangers of toxic pesticides to workers’ health. These strikes and boycotts generally ended with the signing of bargaining agreements. Cesar Chavez died on April 23, 1993 in San Luis, Arizona.
Loreta Janeta Velazquez
Loreta Janeta Velazquez was born on June 26, 1842 to a wealthy Cuban official in Cuba and her maternal grandparents were a French naval officer and the daughter of a wealthy American family. In addition to many aliases, she used the name Alice Williams. Everything known about Velázquez comes from her 600-page book, a Civil War memoir, The Women in Battle: A Narrative of the Exploits Adventures, and Travels of Madame Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Otherwise Know as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, Confederate States Army. In her memoir, she writes of her experiences as a woman disguised as a man in the Confederate States Army. In 1861 she enlisted as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford. Velazquez was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862, when an army doctor discovered she was a woman. After getting caught she decided to flea back to her home in New Orleans. Shortly after returning home she volunteered to be a spy in the North and the South. Velazquez was known to have died in 1897, but the place and date of her death are undocumented.
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson was born on August 1, 1944 in Lubbock Texas. She began her work in the labor movement at the Laborers’ local union in Lubbock in 1967. Linda also worked for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in San Antonio, Texas. She went on to become the international vice president in 1988 until 1996. Linda was also the national vice president of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, AFL-CIO from 1986 to 1996. Then in 1993, she was elected as one of thirty-one vice presidents on the Executive Council of the national AFL-CIO. She was elected the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 and served until September 21, 2007.. Chavez-Thompson represented the labor movement as a member of the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and others. Linda Chavez-Thompson was elected as the president of ORIT, the Inter-American Regional Organization of Workers in 2001. Linda strived to be an active member in the labor movement as a member of the board for a variety of national organizations.
Jaime Escalante
Jaime Escalante was born on December 31, 1930 in La Paz, Bolivia. As the son of two teachers, he had to teach himself English and work many different jobs to earn another college degree to teach in America. He left Bolivia in the 1960s to teach in the schools in America and live a better life. By 1974, he accepted his first job at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California. His talents as a teacher were put to the test by teaching math to the students of Garfield High School. The school was known for it violence and drugs and the troubled students who attended. In 1982, Escalante’s largest math class passed an advanced placement test in Calculus. The testing company quickly accused his students of cheating, but the students retook the test and passed, yet again. In 1988, his teaching story was published in a book called, Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America and in a film called Stand and Deliver. He later went on to teach at another high school in Sacramento, but didn’t have the same success as he had in Garfield. Escalante retired in 1988 and received the Presidential Medal for Excellence award along with many other educational awards. He was also inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999. Jaime Escalante endured a long struggle with cancer and died in March 2010.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was born on July 15, 1952 in Havana, Cuba. She was forced to flee from the oppressive communist regime of Fidel Castro at the age of eight and settled in Miami, Florida. Ileana earned an Associate of Arts degree from Miami-Dade Community College in 1972, Bachelors and Masters Degree in Education from Florida International University in 1975 and 1985 respectively, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Miami in 2004. As the principal and teacher for a private bilingual elementary school in Hialeah, Ileana was inspired to be the voice of the students and parents. She was committed to fight for a stronger educational system, lower taxes, and a brighter economic future. Ros-Lehtinen was the first Hispanic woman to serve in both the Florida State House of Representatives and the Florida Senate in 1986. She authored the Florida Prepaid College Plan, helping more than one million families from Florida to send their children to college. Ileana worked to strengthen the Head Start Program, and revise the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA).
Joseph Marion Hernandez was born on May 26, 1788 in Augustine, Florida. At his time of birth, Florida will still considered a Spanish colony and it wasn’t until 1822, the territory of Florida was established. Hernandez was elected as a Delegate to the Seventeenth Congress where he served as a Delegate from September 30, 1822 to March 3, 1823. He was the first Hispanic to serve in Congress and the first delegate from the Florida territory. Hernandez was the presiding officer of the Territorial House of Representatives from 1824 to 1825. Joseph Marion served in the United States army in 1835 to 1838. He commanded the expedition in 1837, capturing the Indian Chief Oceloa. He was also appointed Brigadier General of Mounted Volunteers in the war against the Florida Indians in July 1837. Hernandez ran for the United States Senate as a Whig candidate in 1845, but he was defeated. He moved to the District of Coliseo, Cuba and worked at “Audaz,” his family’s sugar estate. There he died, June 8,1857.
Cesar Chavez
Cesar Estrada Chavez was born near Yuma, Arizona on March 31,1927. Cesar grew up as a migrant farm worker in the fields of California and at the age of 19 served two years in the U.S Navy in 1946. While spending most of his life in the fields, he had a first-hand experience of horrible conditions and treatment of the working class. Inspired to speak out against this injustice, Cesar began working as a community and labor organizer in the 1950s. From then on he dedicated his life to improving treatment, pay and working conditions for farm workers. Then in 1962, Chavez founded the National Workers Association. The union collaborated with the Agricultural Farm Workers Association to form the United Farm Workers in 1972. During the 1980s, Chavez led marches, called for boycotts, and went on several hunger strikes to bring awareness to the dangers of toxic pesticides to workers’ health. These strikes and boycotts generally ended with the signing of bargaining agreements. Cesar Chavez died on April 23, 1993 in San Luis, Arizona.
Loreta Janeta Velazquez
Loreta Janeta Velazquez was born on June 26, 1842 to a wealthy Cuban official in Cuba and her maternal grandparents were a French naval officer and the daughter of a wealthy American family. In addition to many aliases, she used the name Alice Williams. Everything known about Velázquez comes from her 600-page book, a Civil War memoir, The Women in Battle: A Narrative of the Exploits Adventures, and Travels of Madame Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Otherwise Know as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, Confederate States Army. In her memoir, she writes of her experiences as a woman disguised as a man in the Confederate States Army. In 1861 she enlisted as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford. Velazquez was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862, when an army doctor discovered she was a woman. After getting caught she decided to flea back to her home in New Orleans. Shortly after returning home she volunteered to be a spy in the North and the South. Velazquez was known to have died in 1897, but the place and date of her death are undocumented.
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson was born on August 1, 1944 in Lubbock Texas. She began her work in the labor movement at the Laborers’ local union in Lubbock in 1967. Linda also worked for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in San Antonio, Texas. She went on to become the international vice president in 1988 until 1996. Linda was also the national vice president of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, AFL-CIO from 1986 to 1996. Then in 1993, she was elected as one of thirty-one vice presidents on the Executive Council of the national AFL-CIO. She was elected the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 and served until September 21, 2007.. Chavez-Thompson represented the labor movement as a member of the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and others. Linda Chavez-Thompson was elected as the president of ORIT, the Inter-American Regional Organization of Workers in 2001. Linda strived to be an active member in the labor movement as a member of the board for a variety of national organizations.
Jaime Escalante
Jaime Escalante was born on December 31, 1930 in La Paz, Bolivia. As the son of two teachers, he had to teach himself English and work many different jobs to earn another college degree to teach in America. He left Bolivia in the 1960s to teach in the schools in America and live a better life. By 1974, he accepted his first job at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California. His talents as a teacher were put to the test by teaching math to the students of Garfield High School. The school was known for it violence and drugs and the troubled students who attended. In 1982, Escalante’s largest math class passed an advanced placement test in Calculus. The testing company quickly accused his students of cheating, but the students retook the test and passed, yet again. In 1988, his teaching story was published in a book called, Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America and in a film called Stand and Deliver. He later went on to teach at another high school in Sacramento, but didn’t have the same success as he had in Garfield. Escalante retired in 1988 and received the Presidential Medal for Excellence award along with many other educational awards. He was also inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999. Jaime Escalante endured a long struggle with cancer and died in March 2010.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was born on July 15, 1952 in Havana, Cuba. She was forced to flee from the oppressive communist regime of Fidel Castro at the age of eight and settled in Miami, Florida. Ileana earned an Associate of Arts degree from Miami-Dade Community College in 1972, Bachelors and Masters Degree in Education from Florida International University in 1975 and 1985 respectively, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Miami in 2004. As the principal and teacher for a private bilingual elementary school in Hialeah, Ileana was inspired to be the voice of the students and parents. She was committed to fight for a stronger educational system, lower taxes, and a brighter economic future. Ros-Lehtinen was the first Hispanic woman to serve in both the Florida State House of Representatives and the Florida Senate in 1986. She authored the Florida Prepaid College Plan, helping more than one million families from Florida to send their children to college. Ileana worked to strengthen the Head Start Program, and revise the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA).