(February 5, 2005) Los Angeles - The Mexican American Bar Association (MABA) of Los Angeles County presents
 Pictured from left to right, incoming 2005 MABA President Alan Diamante; Congresswoman Roybal-Allard; and CA State Attorney General Bill Lockyer. |
The congresswoman gave the following acceptance speech at the event:
"Receiving this award from the Mexican American Bar Association means a great deal to me, because it comes from an organization with a legacy and a demonstrated record of helping to advance Latinos in the legal profession and to empower our Latino communities.
Over the years, I've had the privilege of working with your incoming President Alan Diamante, who is an outstanding and effective advocate for immigrant rights; with members of MABA who have participated in my annual citizenship workshops, and with those who have generously provided Pro Bono consultation to the residents of the City of Commerce whose homes were damaged by the derailment of a Union Pacific train.
What makes this award even more meaningful to me however, is that it bares the name of my father, Edward R. Roybal.
On behalf of my father and the Roybal family, I sincerely thank MABA for honoring his legacy of public service, in this very special way.
If I may, given the fact that the award is named to honor my father, I would like to highlight briefly some of my father's history.
As a bilingual health educator, he was a pioneer in the early 40s, educating Latinos about the dangers of tuberculosis as he traveled the state of California with the first tuberculosis X-ray units.
In 1949, he became the first Latino in the 20th Century elected to the Los Angeles City Council. His campaign and subsequent elections sowed the seeds that inspired the Latino political movement of the 40s and the 50s in East Los Angeles.
Although I was only seven years old, I can still remember the excitement generated when improvements to the once neglected and forgotten community of Boyle Heights, were finally being made;
Improvements that many of us today take for granted like the paving of dirt streets and the installation of stop signs and signals at dangerous intersections.
And, I remember how people began to feel empowered because there was finally someone in elected office to fight against the injustices directed at the Latino community of Boyle Heights, such as the police brutality, which existed at that time.
In 1962, when he became the first Mexican American from California to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, he continued to empower Latinos and was the key founder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, better known today as NALEO.
These organizations continue to grow and, like MABA, to empower our youth and our Latino communities. I
n addition, as one of the thirteen cardinals of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, he was a leader in our fight for fair and just immigration policy, bi-lingual education, and accessible and affordable healthcare.
He was also the first Member of Congress to appropriate money for AIDS research in 1982.
My family and I well remember how he was ridiculed by some of his congressional colleagues for obtaining money to research this stigmatized disease.
However, years later, this courageous act to fund AIDS research was among his many contributions to public health that were mentioned when the National Centers for Disease Control named a campus in his honor.
I mention some of his accomplishments, not only because this award is named in his honor, but more importantly because he is a part of the history and legacy of Latino pioneers like MABA's founders Manuel Martinez and Herman Sillas, and Professor Rudy Acuña, a leading activist of the 60s Chicano movement, who paved the way for the many successes and benefits we enjoy today, and must never take for granted.
This is especially true in today's world.
If we as Latinos and as Americans are to successfully meet the challenges ahead, the guidance, support, and advocacy of MABA and members of your legal profession is more critical now than ever before.
Therefore, I look forward to continue to work with MABA and your incoming President Alan Diamante, to help develop fair and just policies on immigration, homeland security and other important issues facing our Latino community and our nation.
These and other critical issues, if not fairly and justly addressed, will weaken our constitution and the protection of the civil rights of Latinos and all Americans.
In closing, I welcome our State Attorney General Bill Lockyer to my 34th Congressional District, and I extend my sincere congratulations to Enrique Arevalo and Angela Sanbrano for their well-deserved recognition this evening. Again, I sincerely thank MABA for this wonderful recognition."