Rodolfo Gonzales

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales was a Mexican American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist. Gonzales was one of many leaders for the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado. The Crusade for Justice was an urban rights and Chicano cultural urban movement during the 1960s focusing on social, political, and economic justice for Chicanos. Gonzales convened the first-ever Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in 1968, which was poorly attended due to timing and weather conditions. Gonzales tried again in March 1969, and established what is commonly known as the First Chicano Youth Liberation Conference. This Conference was attended by many future Chicano activists and artists. The conference also birthed the Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, a pro-indigenist manifesto advocating revolutionary Chicano nationalism and self-determination for all Chicanos. Through the Crusade for Justice, Gonzales organized the Mexican American people of Denver to fight for their cultural, political, and economic rights, leaving his mark on history.