Willie Velasquez isn’t as well-known as other Latino activists like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales.
But according to a new VOCES/PBS documentary airing next week, he was a key figure in developing the Latino voting bloc years before it became the nation’s largest minority group and before both parties actively sought Latino voters’ support.
Latino Public Broadcasting’s “Willie Velasquez: Your Vote Is Your Voice” aims to bring attention to the voting rights advocate who came from San Antonio’s poor west side and ended up rubbing elbows with the likes of President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Ted Kennedy. He persuaded Republicans in the 1970s and ’80s to reach out to Hispanics because of the growing Latino voter-registration numbers in swing districts.
“Willie Velasquez: Your Vote Is Your Voice” begins airing on PBS stations Monday.
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Velasquez might have done even more to foster Hispanic political power if not for his sudden death at age 44.
