Edward Ross (Ed) Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was an American politician. Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He served for thirty years as a Democratic representative of the 30th and later the 25th districts of California, and was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for thirteen years. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California United States On March 25, 2008, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted to name Central Los Angeles High School #11 as Edward R. Roybal Learning Center.
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Early life
Roybal was born into a Hispanic family that traced its roots in Albuquerque, New Mexico back hundreds of years, to the Roybals who settled the area prior to the founding of Santa Fe. Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically Roybal, also spelled Roibal, is a Spanish Surname. History The name first appears in documents dating to around 1680 Santa Fe ( Navajo: Yootó is the Capital of the state of New Mexico. In 1922, a railroad strike prevented his father from being able to work, and Roybal moved with his family to the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, where he attended local public schools, graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1933. Alternate meaning East LA, an unincorporated community bordering the East LA region described below Boyle Heights is a district east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles California, USA See also Theodore Roosevelt High School for schools of the same name Theodore Roosevelt High School is a high school (grades 9-12 located in the After graduation, Roybal joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that provided him with an experience that both reflected and reinforced his developing commitment to public service. Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCC) was a Work relief program for young men from unemployed families established on March 21, 1933, by U The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D After serving in the CCC, Roybal attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and later studied law at Southwestern University. The University of California Los Angeles (generally known as UCLA) is a public research university located in Westwood Los Angeles, California, United Southwestern Law School (formerly known as Southwestern University School of Law) is a private ABA -accredited Law school located in Los Angeles
In 1942, Roybal began work as a public educator with the California Tuberculosis Association. His work there, however, was interrupted by a stint in the Army, where he worked as an accountant for an infantry unit. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Upon returning home, he began work as director of health education for the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis and Health Association, a position he held until 1949.
Local politics
In 1947, having been encouraged by many familiar with his work in social outreach programs on Los Angeles' east side, Roybal decided to run for the 9th District Seat of the Los Angeles City Council, then held by Parley Parker Christensen. The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California United States Parley Parker Christensen ( July 19, 1869 - February 10, 1954) was an American politician and 1920 presidential nominee of the fledgling The district, which included Boyle Heights, Bunker Hill, Civic Center, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and the Central Avenue corridor, was then 45% White, 34% Latino, 15% African American, and 6% "other" residents. Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles California, is a short developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. The Civic Center neighborhood of Los Angeles California is the administrative core of the City of Los Angeles and a complex of City, State Chinatown in Los Angeles, California ( is a Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles that was founded in the late 1800s Little Tokyo, also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnic Japanese American district in Downtown Los Angeles and one of only three official Central Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare in the central portion of the Los Angeles California metropolitan area Roybal, unable to secure a large enough portion of the vote from outside the Latino community to overcome Christianson's support across ethnic lines and from organized labor in particular, lost the election. In 1949, Roybal teamed with local organizer Fred Ross and a group of people who had supported his earlier campaign to form the Community Service Organization (CSO), which tied together a variety of religious, political, and organized labor groups to fight local discrimination. For the classical art campaigner Fred Ross see Art Renewal Center. The Community Service Organization (1948- was an important California Latino Civil rights organization most famous for training Cesar Chavez. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that The organization, which organized get-out-the-vote drives, did not explicitly endorse candidates, but Roybal's presence as president of the organization and the personal endorsements of many of its members helped form a groundswell of support that contributed to Roybal's victory. In 1960 Roybal helped organize the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and served as its first president from 1960 to 1962. Mexican American Political Association ( MAPA) is an organization that promotes the interests of Mexican-Americans in the United States.
Taking office in 1949, Roybal began a long career in public office; he served as councilman from 1949 to 1962 and was president pro-tempore in his last term. As councilman, he became a figure of great importance, particularly on issues facing the local Latino community. Most famously, he opposed the land swap that allowed for Dodger Stadium to be built in the largely Mexican-American community of Chavez Ravine. Dodger Stadium is a large outdoor ballpark in Los Angeles California at Chávez Ravine. See also History of Mexican-Americans Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican ancestry Chávez Ravine is the current site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. He was also critical of House Un-American Activities Committee and the politics of McCarthyism, voting against the Subversive Registration Bill, which required written loyalty oaths. The House Committee on Un-American Activities ( HUAC or HCUA 1938–1975 was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s A loyalty oath is an Oath of Loyalty to an Organization, Institution, or State of which an individual is a member After his departure, the City Council went 23 years without a Latino until Richard Alatorre's election in 1985. Richard Alatorre is a politician and a member of the Democratic Party of the United States
National politics and later life
During his time in the City Council, Roybal, as a prominent young Democrat, received encouragement to run for higher office. In 1954, he lost an effort to become Lieutenant Governor. This is a List of Lieutenant Governors of the US state of California, 1850 to present. Running in 1958 against Ernest Debs for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Roybal lost a bitterly-contested election in which he held a slim lead on election night, but lost after four recounts gave the election to Debs, fueling suspicions of voter fraud. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member non-partisan governing board of Los Angeles County California. Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an Election. Despite this, Roybal ran for Congress in 1962, winning election in the 25th District, an area that included his native Boyle Heights, the larger East Los Angeles area, Downtown, and parts of Hollywood. Downtown Los Angeles is the Central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center Beginning his term in 1963, he became the first Latino Congressperson from California since the 1879 election of Romualdo Pacheco. José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco Jr ( October 31, 1831 January 23, 1899) was an American Politician and Diplomat
As Congressman, Roybal was generally known for a low-key legislative style. In his first term, he served on the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee and the Post Office Committee. The US House Committee on Natural Resources, or Natural Resources Committee (often referred to as simply "Resources" as in "He's on Resources" is a In his next term, he served on the Foreign Affairs Committee and on the Veteran's Affairs Committee.
Beginning in 1971, he served on the House Appropriations Committee for more than two decades and authored a number of bills, many of which were not universally popular, which offered support for groups he saw as disenfranchised; many of his actions were on behalf of veterans, the elderly, and Mexican-Americans. The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1967 he wrote the first bill giving federal support to bilingual education, creating specialized language instruction for immigrant populations. Bilingual education involves teaching all subjects in school through two different languages - in the United States instruction occurs in English and a minority language such as As Chairman of the House Select Committee on Aging, he led a successful campaign to restore $15 million in funding the low-cost health programs for senior citizens and an expanded public housing program for seniors. In 1982 he worked to preserve the Meals on Wheels program and veterans' preferences in hiring. Meals on Wheels are programmes that deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals In the early 1980s, against the wishes of many of his own constituents, he argued for expanded funding for AIDS research.
In 1976 he became a founder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and later co-founded the [(National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials)] (NALEO). The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC comprises 21 Democratic Members of the United States Congress of Hispanic descent The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials ( NALEO) is a leadership organization of elected and appointed Latino In 1986, as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, he led the unsuccessful opposition to the Simpson-Mazzoli Act. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA also Simpson-Mazzoli Act (, signed by President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986
In 1978, Roybal was involved in a vote-buying scheme, known as the Koreagate scandal, in which he admitted to lying to the House Ethics Committee about accepting a $1,000 gift from a South Korean lobbyist, Tongsun Park. Koreagate was an American Political scandal in 1976 involving South Korean political figures seeking influence from members of Congress The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives Tongsun Park (born 1935 also known as Pak Dong-seon, was a figure in two political money-related scandals Koreagate in the 1970s and the Oil-for-Food Program After requests by Hispanic leaders and testimony from the other two Representatives accused — Ronald Dellums and Phillip Burton — the potential censure was reduced to a reprimand (the same sanction given the other two Representatives involved). Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums (born November 24 1935 is the current Mayor of Oakland, California For the Human Nature bandmate see Human Nature (band. Phillip Burton ( June 1 1926 – April 10 Undeterred, he ran for reelection the same year and won 70% of the vote.
Roybal retired in 1993 after thirty years in office. That year, following redistricting, his daughter Lucille Roybal-Allard became the Representative for the 33rd District, which contained part of Roybal's district, while Xavier Becerra, with Roybal's endorsement, won election in 30th District, which included much of the remaining territory of Roybal's former 25th District. Lucille Roybal-Allard (born June 12 1941) an American politician has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives Xavier Becerra (born January 26 1958) is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
At the time of his death, more buildings in Los Angeles were named after him than any other single person. [1] Among the buildings named for Roybal are the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, located in what had been his home district in California, and the main campus of the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services based in unincorporated California State University, Los Angeles is home to the Edward R. California State University Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L Roybal Institute for Applied Gerontology.
After retiring from Congress, Roybal lived the rest of his life in Pasadena, California as one of the deans of local and national politics, endorsing several candidates in elections throughout the region. Pasadena ( is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States.
He died at the age of 89 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena of respiratory failure complicated by pneumonia.
External links
- Edward R. Roybal at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|
- Library of Congress biography
- People for the American Way biography
- The Edward R. Roybal Legacy Gala NALEO
- National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials NALEO
References
- ^ Latino USA program 655
- Burt, Kenneth C. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress is a Biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress as Latino USA is a nationally syndicated Public radio program produced by KUT-FM radio in Austin Texas and distributed nation-wide by National (2003). "The Power of a Mobilized Citizenry and Coalition Politics: The 1949 Election of Edward R. Roybal to the Los Angeles City Council". Southern California Quarterly 85 (Winter). Historical Society of Southern California.
- Diaz, Katherine A. (1983). "Congressman Edward Roybal: Los Angeles Before the 1960's". Caminos 4:7 (July–August).
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Parley Parker Christensen |
Los Angeles City Councilmen for the 9th District 1949–1962 |
Succeeded by Gilbert W. Lindsay |
| Preceded by Bob Wilson |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 30th congressional district 1963–1975 |
Succeeded by George E. Danielson |
| Preceded by Charles E. Wiggins |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 25th congressional district 1975–1993 |
Succeeded by Howard McKeon |