The Life and Times of Willie Velàsquez

William C. ñWillieî Velàsquez founded the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP) and was an influential participant in other leading Latino rights and justice groups, including the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and the Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC). From the late 1960s until his untimely death in 1988, Velàsquez helped Mexican Americans and other Hispanics become active participants in American political life. Though still insufficiently appreciated, Velàsquez holds a unique status in the pantheon of modern American civil rights figures. VelàsquezÍs work on voter rights and registration triggered an unprecedented mobilization of Latino voters in pivotal electoral states across the U.S., including California, Illinois, and Texas. Today, as Latinos emerge to constitute AmericaÍs new minority of record, with growing reach into other major states, such as New York, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and North Carolina, Hispanic American political influence ? drawing on VelàsquezÍs legacy ? can only become more significant in the years to come. This critical biography features an introduction by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Former Rhodes Scholar and Velàsquez prot?g? Juan A. SepÏlveda, Jr.Ís biography of the man provides a first, definitive glimpse into his life and times. Based on SepÏlvedaÍs close personal relationship and exchanges with Velàsquez during the SVREP founderÍs final years, and over a dozen years of research and writing, the book chronicles VelàsquezÍs influences, his landmark contributions to American civic culture, and his enduring legacy.