ROSIE CASTRO
Civil Rights Advocate; Member of La Raza Unida

We have practiced a different kind of
leadership, a leadership that empowers.
--Rosie Castro


Rosie Castro stands beside a poster promoting the CBB slate of city council candidatees who ran in 1971.


Rosie Castro with her two sons, Joaquín and Julián


Rosie Castro with two guests at her son Julián's first fundraiser in his bid for city council, December, 2000. The event was held at Los Colorinos Restaurant.

Rosie Castro is well known in the San Antonio Hispanic community as a long time Chicana activist. Uncompromising in her beliefs, she has been a pioneer in advancing the rights of minorities, particularly Latina women, in her community. She has, for example, pressured the San Antonio media to employ more Hispanics, promoted the employment of women in high-level positions, worked with women in transitional housing to improve their employment opportunities, organized the long overdue Latino Library collection for the city library and numerous other accomplishments. (Cardenas 1)

Born a rebel

Castro was born in 1947. She was raised by her mother and an older woman who served as a guardian for both mother and child. Castro's mother, a Mexican national, cleaned houses for a living and money was scarce. Castro's home life was authoritarian and restrictive with a strong female presence in the household. Castro however, was very rebellious in nature and continually challenged traditional values.

I was never an obedient kid. I was always in trouble for my language or not agreeing. Obviously, that was something that was supposed to be done. A young woman was expected to be this feminine person, liked by all, quiet, never gave anybody a hassle, that would cook and serve. I never fit that from the word 'go'…With males I was always in a competitive mode. I never saw or understood why we should be subservient. (De Los Santos 105)

As a young person, Castro questioned authority, particularly the dominant White power structure, which she connected to racism, sexism and oppression. Her keen sensitivity to issues of social, political and economic injustice as they affected Mexican-Americans led her to take concrete, political action to redress inequities. Castro paid the price at a young age for rocking the boat.

Being very young and faced with the understanding of the whole area of discrimination, having to do with the things that you had to do to be able to change some of those structures, those things you were doing, not endearing yourself to people you could not give a ____ about but your family and friendsin some cases who could not understand why you were doing this. It was so out of the norm. (De Los Santos 104)

A Beginning in Politics

Women also played an important role in Castro's education at Little Flower High School on the Hispanic Westside of town. The Catholic nuns discouraged youth idleness and pushed young people to engage in constructive activities. The youths' answer to this was to establish a youth club, and Castro headed it. Here, Castro had the opportunity to develop public speaking skills. There were also many people active in politics at Little Flower and with the growing civil rights and Chicano movements, politics eventually became a passion. Margaret Kramer, a professor and one of Castro's mentors at Our Lady of the Lake University, helped her to organize the Young Democrats' Club of Bexar County. Castro became its president and eventually the vice-president for the statewide organization. Castro further honed her political skills, gained invaluable experience, and met key politicians. As president for the county youth democrat club, she testified before the Texas Senate in support of the constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to 18 in the midst of the tumultuous Vietnam War era.

A Chicana por La Causa

Castro, however was deeply concerned about the both the Democrat and Republican parties' lack of responsiveness to the needs of the Hispanic community and became a key figure in the Raza Unida Party, the Chicano rights activist movement that emerged in the 1960's, in state and local politics. She sums up the role of Raza Unida in the following statement:

Raza Unida was organized by first generation college students who analyzed the status of Mexican-Americans within four policy areas: social, political, education and economic. In order to effect policy changes, Raza Unida saw the need for greater participation of Chicanos in the political process. The major political parties were not supportive. The GOP wrote us off and the Democrats believed in the patrón system in delivering votes. Raza Unida believed that by hitting the political, the other areas would take care of themselves and make a difference.

Throughout San Antonio's history, Chicanos had no representation on policy-making bodies. Voter turnout was low due to a lack of Chicano candidates and the poll tax that was not abolished until 1966; one year after the Voting Rights Act was enacted which prohibited such discriminatory electoral devices. There was also systemic racism in the city's mainstream institutions. Even the War on Poverty Program of the Johnson Administration that was designed to insure "maximum feasible participation" to alleviate dire economic and social conditions within the Mexican-American barrios was controlled by the Anglo establishment. As a third party, Raza Unida "represented more of a social movement than just a partisan political party" (Rosales 117). It sought to acquire independent political representation for the barrios that had been previously excluded.

Chicana activists such as Castro faced a more daunting task than their male comrades in their demand for equality: First they had to enfranchise the entire Hispanic community and second they had to provide leadership and skills within a political environment dominated by males. In other words, they had to address race and gender simultaneously. With respect to gender, Castro and her female colleagues did not receive recognition from their male counterparts for their participation in the movement. They frequently remained invisible even though they did much of the work. Castro recalls:

I mean I can remember coming up with the wives of some of the key politicians; now here were some women that were always busy in their campaigns, were always doing the work. Not just sitting idly by, but being very much a part of the political work, and yet there was no recognition of that. (Rosales 114)

Even within the growing "White" feminist movement, Chicanas were discounted. Rosales notes that they were "caught between a "White feminism" that was not responsive to the Chicana experience and a political reality where they struggled, mobilized and politicized, but were not recognized in their own right." (114-15) Castro was very critical of this mainstream feminist movement and its lack of sensitivity towards the struggle of Chicanas.

...there was a feminist movement coming in. As the feminists made some overtures, we looked at it this way: "Our people cannot come out of oppression unless we do it together." So it's not sexism…it's a race question. The feminists were basically racist. All they wanted was to co-opt the Chicanas to support the White women's agenda. The White women's agenda had some relevance, but not at the expense of our people. For example, job discrimination cut across men and women in our community. (Rosales 116)

Chicana activists like Castro had to prove themselves and take the initiative in grassroots organizing. One of the most influential factors that enabled them to acquire the necessary experience was Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty Program. They became intensely involved in concrete issues such as welfare rights, education, health and housing through the vehicle of protest politics.

The most powerful and symbolic event to occur in San Antonio, the SASA (San Antonio Savings Association) boycott in September of 1970, served as a springboard for young Chicanas to gain entry into leadership positions. The boycott was a result of disparaging remarks against Mexican-Americans made by then Mayor Walter McAllister (and president of SASA) in the well known CBS documentary, Hunger in America. While the Chicano community welcomed the focus on San Antonio's abysmal socio-economic conditions in the barrios, it unleashed its outrage at McAllister for stating that "our Mexicans were very nice people, but their problem was that they preferred dancing and fiestas." (Rosales 112). Rosie Castro and other Chicana activists were part of a committee to coordinate the boycott. Rosales notes:

They (wo)manned the picket lines with other Chicano activists, where many of them were hauled off to jail in an ensuing melee caused by the overreaction of the police department. The SASA boycott had a powerful impact on Chicanos and Chicanas in San Antonio, but more important the visible role of the Chicana leadership thrust them into other leadership positions. (113)

One year later, Castro had that opportunity. In 1971, she ran for city council from a slate of Mexican-American candidates under the Committee for Betterment of the Barrio (CBB). This organization came out of the War on Poverty agency infrastructure and represented neighborhood organizations in electoral politics. CBB challenged the Anglo domination of politics by recruiting Chicano candidates to run for city council. These Chicano candidates however, were from the younger generation who not only flatly rejected middle class politics of the Anglo community, but also the coalition politics of older Mexican-Americans who supported the at-large electoral system. Castro, as mentioned earlier, belonged to the Raza Unida Party, which was far more militant. The politics of the CBB placed greater emphasis on barrio representation while rejecting political party representation via the Democratic Party which it deemed as racist. The CBB also insisted that the only Chicanos who could represent the barrios were those who lived there. Middle class Chicanos from the north side were not capable of doing so. The CBB slate of 1971 broke new ground because for the first time it fielded both men and women candidates which opened the doors to greater Chicana participation and leadership. Although Castro and her colleagues lost the election because of the at-large electoral system, they received the overwhelming majority of votes in the barrios. In addition, the CBB elections played a pivotal role in demonstrating the need for single member districts. Through the efforts of MALDEF (Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund) and the extension of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act to Texas, San Antonio was forced to change from an at-large to single member district electoral system in its city council elections. This ensured greater political representation for the Hispanic community. Castro's city council candidacy along with her slate peers, can be credited in part for this important victory.

Forever an Activist

Education has always been a major issue of concern for Castro because it is a means for a way out of poverty. Some thirty years ago she worked as a volunteer teacher for a pioneering effort to further the education of children of agricultural migrants by providing a mobile school that followed migrants through the various midwestern states. She later taught in the Model City's Early Childhood Program for pre-school children in the Edgewood Independent School District. This program provided the prototype and materials for preschool programs instituted by the state many years later. ( Cardenas 1)

In the area of higher education, Castro continually fought for more program improvements at UTSA, which until recently, was the only public university in San Antonio. She was part of a committee that worked with President Sam Kilpatrick to improve retention rates, establish more doctoral programs, and hire more minority faculty members. These efforts were largely unsuccessful, and as student and faculty discontent with Kilpatrick increased, he eventually resigned. The committee stayed in tact, however, and helped to select Dr. Ricardo Romo, a San Antonio native and specialist in retention, as the new UTSA president.

Castro has also been a strong advocate for improving the city's public libraries. She helped to establish El Grupo de 100, which was responsible for creating a Latino collection. The inventory has increased from the start-up inventory of 1,200 titles in place when the collection in September 1996, to more than 4,000. The pace of the collection's development however, has not been fast enough because it is a resource that was "overlooked for too long." (Flores: Para 18) Castro continues to push for additional titles as well as programming. "We need to see our stories reflected in mainstream institutions and celebrate the talent that's out there in Latino community," she says. "If children cannot see themselves reflected in mainstream institutions like the library, they begin to feel like they're not part of society. That is the kind of discrimination we have always suffered." (Flores: Para 19-20)

Over the years, Castro has fought for the promotion and hiring of Latina women to high level positions. She believes that vestiges of racism and inequities remain and she is dedicated to dismantling them tenaciously bit by bit. She asserts:

If you're after something, you're going to take the beating, but you're going to keep at it until you get it. I'm ready to take the knocks as long as I know there's that goal out there. I'm going to keep at it until I reach it. Sometimes it's a slow thing, too. It doesn't come as quickly as you'd like it, but you always keep chipping away at it... you're always focused and you always keep at it. (De Los Santos 107)
Her persistence continues. "As a professional she has generously donated her time and skills to women's organizations, facilitating, chairing, training groups and conducting workshops." (De Los Santos 107) Castro mentors youth to help them "find and refine their talents." She prefers coaching over an autocratic style. Castro likes to provide leadership opportunities for young Hispanic professionals. "If I'm offered a board position, I will often find a younger person to fill it, because the sooner young people get these opportunities, the sooner they will develop."

Castro believes that her greatest accomplishment are her twin sons, Joaquín and Julián. "They are my legacy", she says. Castro has taught her sons the importance giving back to the community. "To open doors, to be fair, just and kind. I've tried to teach them tolerance, respect and to make sure they understand the need to give back." (De Los Santos 108-109) Her sons are graduates of Stanford University and in 2000, Harvard Law School. They note their mother's long history of activism "left an indelible impression on both of them as they were growing up." (Gavel: Para 5) With their education and training, Joaquín and Julián plan to pursue a life of public service. In 2001 Julián won a seat on the city council for District 7 out of a field of six candidates. At only 27, he is the youngest city councilman in San Antonio's history. He believes that he can inspire more young people of his generation to get involved in the political process. Brother Joaquín won the Democratic primary for state representative in District 123.

The twins have been working campaigns since the age of 3 alongside their mother. They are passionate about the need to revive the inner city by providing greater employment opportunities through high technology improve the environment and our schools.

Activism and Liberation Theology

Castro's activism was sparked by a fusion between the gospel of the New Testament and social justice teachings. She recalls as a youth that "I couldn't stand by and watch." Castro is a Catholic, although not a devout one, since she is at odds with the system of patriarchy within the Church. She is attracted to Mujerista Theology, a doctrine proposed by Yolanda Tarango and Ada Isasi-Díaz. which believes goes beyond the gender equality to espouse the liberation of the sexes. In Castro's eyes, there are more possibilities for men and women because the constraints of gender roles are eliminated.


Rosie Castro stands by a photograph of two "Adelitas," Mexican women soldiers who fought in the Revolution. Castro has been a fighter for civil rights most of her life.


This is a poster of the Committee for Barrio Betterment (CBB) that ran its own slate of city council candidates. Rosie Castro, who was only 23 at the time, ran for one of its seats. Although none of the candidates won their race, in the city at large, they did win an overwhelming majority in the San Antonio's Chicano barrios. The CBB also ran men and women simultaneously making Chicanas such as Castro much more visible in the Chicano movement.


"My greatest achievement are my sons Joaquín (left) and Julián," says Castro. The twins, 25 years old, recently graduated from Harvard Law School and are now working for a prestigious law firm in San Antonio. Julián, however, is running for city council in District 7 and brother Joaquín is the treasurer of his campaign. If Julián wins, he will be the youngest person ever to have been elected to a city council seat in the history of the city.


Rosie Castro smiling proudly with her twin sons, Joaquín (left) and Julián. Joaquín may also be headed for elected office now that he won the Democratic primary for state representative in March, 2002.

Mariana Ornelas