Labor leader and immigrant rights activist Bert Corona viewed Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the United States, both with and without documentation, as one people without borders, and he understood that their struggles were connected. While other Mexican American labor leaders were campaigning against undocumented workers, Corona fought to shift the opinions of Mexican Americans toward support for the undocumented and helped create a pro-immigrant consciousness among Latinos in the United States.

Joining me to help us learn more about the life of Bert Corona is Dr. Eladio B. Bobadilla, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, whose 2019 dissertation looks at the roots of the Immigrants’ Rights Movement and who has written and taught about Bert Corona. 

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode image is “Bert Corona,” source unknown, believed to be available via Creative Commons.

Sources:

• “‘One People without Borders’: The Lost Roots of the Immigrants’ Rights Movement, 1954-2006,” by Eladio B. Bobadilla, Duke University PhD Dissertation, 2019.


• “From the Archives: Bert Corona; Labor Activist Backed Rights for Undocumented Workers,” by George Ramos, Los Angeles Times, January 17, 2001.


• “The Legacy of Bert Corona," by Carlos Oretaga, The Progressive Magazine, August 1, 2001.


• “Remembering Immigrant Defender Bert Corona,” by Eladio Bobadilla, The Progressive Magazine, February 7, 2022.

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