About Willie Velasquez
William C. Velásquez was the founder of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in 1974 and Southwest Voter Research Institute in 1985. He envisioned a time when Latinos would play an important role in the American Democratic process. His legacy began in Texas.
Velásquez was one of the founding members of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO); a Chicano youth organization aimed at social action. His role in MAYO led to becoming Texas' first statewide Coordinator of El Movimiento Social de la Raza Unida, the precursor of La Ram Unida Party.
His involvement with Latino organizations was extensive. In 1968 as Boycott Coordinator for the United Farm Workers (UFW), he organized strikes at the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. After leaving the UFW he became the founder and director of the Mexican American Unity Council in San Antonio, Texas. In 1970 he was named Field Director of the Southwest Council of La Raza.
From 1972 to July 1974, he concentrated his efforts on building the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP). Little notice was taken when Velasquez opened the doors to SVREP in 1974, seated on a folding chair; behind a small desk calling from a borrowed rotary telephone to spur Mexican Americans into politics.
He enlisted the aid of Community organizers, together they launched hundreds of voter registration and get-the-vote-out (GOTV) campaigns throughout the southwest. The legacy of Velásquez is apparent-since its inception, SVREP has cultivated 50,000 community leaders, successfully litigated 85 voting rights lawsuits and has conducted 2,300 non-partisan,voter registration and GOTV campaigns. Consequently, voter registration has grown over the years from 2.4 million registered Latinos in 1974 to 7 million nationwide in 1998.
But his vision involved more than just getting Latinos to the ballot box, Velásquez sought to bring into the democratic process an active and informed Latino electorate.
Charted in 1985, the Southwest Voter Research Institute was established to seek the opinions of the Latino electorate and to make those findings known. He felt Latino leaders should be held accountable to their constituencies. As part of the institute, he set out to collect and distribute information on public policy issues ranging from income and poverty to U.S. and Latin America relations.
In 1995 President Bill Clinton awarded Velásquez The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor any civilian can receive - and only the second Latino ever to earn that honor.
In 1997, the Southwest Voter Research Institute was changed to the William C Velásquez Institute (WCVI) as a way to honor and perpetuate Velásquez' vision and legacy.
But Velásquez did not get to see the fruits of his dreams, he passed away on June 15, 1988 of complications from kidney cancer. The ongoing activities of SVREP and WCVI serve as proof of the continued strength and merit of Velásquez. Velásquez' name is now synonymous with the phrase "Su Voto Es Su Voz" ("Your Vote Is Your Voice”).
Willie Velásquez Day
During the 83rd Texas Legislative Session, HB3209 was sponsored by Hon. Roberto Alonzo and Hon. Jose Menendez, declaring May 9th as a Day of Recognition for Willie Velásquez. The bill was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry in June 2013.
