Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituent and dear friend, Alfredo Acosta Figueroa, for his lifelong dedication to social justice and his relentless advocacy for civil rights during the Chicano Movement with Cesar Chavez and Bert Corona. Alfredo Acosta Figueroa was born in Blythe, California, to a fifth- generation indigenous-Chicano family from the Colorado River Indian Reservation, which encompasses the Palo Verde Valley in California and all through Parker Valley in Arizona. From a young age, Alfredo learned the values of social justice from his family. As a young kid working in the mines, his parents taught him the values of standing up for himself, caring for his neighbors, and standing by his coworkers. Because of his family's lessons, he has dedicated his entire life to safeguarding the civil, voting, working, and environmental rights of disenfranchised and indigenous communities. In the late 1950s, Alfredo and his brothers, known as the Figueroa Brothers, became actively involved in the civil rights movement. Together, they fought against injustices in Blythe, the Coachella Valley, and throughout the American Southwest. Through it all, Alfredo was mentored by two highly respected Chicano leaders: Humberto ``Bert'' Corona, an immigration rights activist with the Mexican American Political Association; and Cesar Chavez, the civil rights leader of the United Farm Workers.…”