Edward R. Roybal

Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a Mexican-American politician. A

Biography

Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, into a

He served a stint in the Army, where he worked as an accountant for an infantry unit.^{[citation needed]}

On January 8, 2001, he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton.^[3]

Roybal died of

In 1942, Roybal began work as a public health educator with the California Tuberculosis Association. 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. In 1949, Roybal teamed with local organizer Fred Ross and Anthony "Tony" P Rios from 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. 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.^[4]

After retiring from Congress, Roybal founded the Lucille and Edward R. Roybal Foundation, which awards scholarships to Latino students pursuing careers in the field of health. Edward R. 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.

City Council

Elections

In 1947, Roybal ran to fill the

Roybal was noted as "often the spokesman for minority groups" in the City Council[5] and "recognized leader of East Side minority groups."^[6] He was also seen as a "consistent supporter" of subsidized low-cost public housing.^[7]

Other positions taken:

Communists, 1950. Roybal cast the sole negative vote against an ordinance that required "Communists and other subversives" to register with the police. He told the council he believed he was "signing a political death warrant" with his vote, adding that the law "places every citizen and organization . . . at the mercy of any biased crackpot who may decide to report the matter to the Police Department as subversive."^[8]

Juveniles, 1950. The council adopted a motion by Don A. Allen asking the Police Department what was being done to enforce curfew laws. Allen said it was his opinion that if policemen were "equipped with a good old-fashioned hair brush, which could be applied to some of these kids," there might be a lessening of juvenile crime. But Roybal disagreed, noting that most of the "hoodlums" were over 21 and recommending closer cooperation by the police with agencies "dealing with youth problems."^[9]

Rabies, 1953. He and his public health and welfare committee supported proposed legislation requiring all dogs to be vaccinated against rabies.^[10]

Dodgers, 1957. Roybal was opposed to the use of Chavez Ravine as a Major League Baseball stadium, claiming that "Chavez Ravine is the worst place in the world for a baseball park." He favored Wrigley Field.^[11]

Employment, 1958. He voted in favor of establishing a

Bunker Hill, 1959. Roybal threatened a filibuster when the council would not accede to a request he made for monthly reports on the fate of residents evicted from Bunker Hill to make room for a massive improvement project.^[13]

Apology, 1960. Before and during a City Council meeting, he demanded an apology from Police Chief

Running in 1958 against Ernest E. 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.^[16]

U.S. Congress

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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. Beginning his term in 1963, he became the first Latino Congressperson from California since the 1879 election of Romualdo Pacheco.

As Congressman, Roybal was generally known for a low-key legislative style. In his first term, he served on the

Beginning in 1971, he served on the

In 1976, he became a founder of the

Koreagate

In 1978, Roybal was involved in a vote-buying investigation known as the Koreagate scandal, in which he failed to properly report to the House Ethics Committee a gift of $1000 from a South Korean lobbyist, Tongsun Park. During the investigation by the Ethics Committee, Roybal mistakenly stated he had never met Park. Park later testified that he had met Roybal four years earlier, for less than two minutes, and that he hardly remembered the man. In addition, Roybal voted against every bill that would have benefited Park, thus discrediting allegations of a vote buying scheme.^{[citation needed]}

Requests by Hispanic leaders, and testimony by Representatives

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 the 30th District, which included much of the remaining territory of Roybal's former 25th District.

Legacy

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At the time of his death, more buildings in Los Angeles were named after him than any other single person.

On March 25, 2008, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted to name Central Los Angeles High School #11 (formerly Belmont Learning Center) as Edward R. Roybal Learning Center. The school opened on September 3, 2008.

In August 2022, the Roybal School of Film and Television Production Magnet opened, housed within the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, aiming to provide a conduit for students from underrepresented backgrounds to gain below-the-line employment in the film and television sector, in fields such as lighting, cinematography and editing. The school arose from an initiative by George Clooney and Grant Heslov.^[19]

Every February, on or near Roybal's birthday, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) hosts the Edward R. Roybal Legacy Gala [1] in Washington, D.C., as a tribute to the contributions he made to the nation, to NALEO and to the NALEO Educational Fund, of which he was the Founder Emeritus.^{[citation needed]}

The

He was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on November 24, 2014.^[20]

See also

• List of federal political scandals in the United States
• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded

References

Other references

• [2] National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund
• [3] Archived 2011-12-02 at the Wayback Machine John P. Schmal, "Fracturing the Chicano Vote in California," LatinoLA, July 20, 2005, citing (1) Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and William C. Velasquez Institute, "California Congressional Redistricting Plan," at http://www.maldef.org/publications/pdf/Congressional_Plan_Supplement.pdf Archived 2006-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, (2) Richard Santillan, "California Reapportionment and the Chicano Community: An Historical Overview 1960-1980," in The Chicano Community and California Redistricting, Vol. I, Rose Institute of State and Local Government, Claremont Men's College, 1981, (3) Richard Santillan,Chicano Politics: La Raza Unida (Los Angeles: Tlaquilo Publications, 1973), p. 11, and (4) Katherine Underwood "Pioneering Minority Representation: Edward Roybal and the Los Angeles City Council, 1949-1962," Pacific Historical Review, 1997.
• [4] Archived 2011-12-04 at the Wayback Machine John P. Schmal, "Edward Roybal Was a Pioneer," LatinoLA, October 27, 2005, citing (1) Alford, Harold. "The Proud Peoples." New York: David McKay Co., 1972, (2) Diaz, Katherine A., "Congressman Edward Roybal: Los Angeles Before the 1960s," Caminos 4:7 (July–August 1983), (3) Underwood, Katherine. "Pioneering Minority Representation: Edward Roybal and the Los Angeles City Council, 1949-1962." Pacific Historical Review 66:3 (August 1997): 399–425, and (4) Library of Congress, "Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-1995: Edward R. Roybal," Online: https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/roybal.html

External links

• United States Congress. "Edward R. Roybal (id: R000485)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.|
• The Edward R. Roybal Legacy Gala NALEO
• Appearances on C-SPAN

^[1]

Further reading

• Burt, Kenneth C. (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: 413–438.
  JSTOR 41172186
  .
• Burt, Kenneth C. The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics. Claremont, CA: Regina Books, 2007.
  ISBN 978-1-930053-50-2
• Diaz, Katherine A. (1983). "Congressman Edward Roybal: Los Angeles Before the 1960s". Caminos. 4:7 (July–August).
• Sanchez, George J., "Edward R. Roybal and the Politics of Multiracialism," Southern California Quarterly, 92 (Spring 2010), 51–73.