La Raza Unida National Convention, El Paso 1972

Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida (National United Peoples Party or United Race Party) was an American political party which became famous in the 1970s. It fought for better housing, work, and educational opportunities for Mexican-Americans. In 1972, a call was issued by by Reyes Lopez Tijerina, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, and Jose Angel Gutierrez, for a national convention in El Paso, Texas. The purpose was to create a national political party for Chicanos, La Raza Unida Party (LRUP). At that time Chicano movement activists perceived the convention as being the most important political event to be ever be organized by Chicanos in the history of the U.S. Over 3,000 Chicanos from 18 states, the majority from the Southwest, but some as far away as Washington, D.C., Maryland, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska convened at the historic national convention to discuss strategy and policy to create the new national Chicano political party.

Image Description:People congregating at the 1972 La Raza Unida National Convention at Sacred Heart Church. The image is in black and white. Most of the people are dressed in 70’s style with their shirts tucked into their pants and have long hair or mullets. The man in the center is holding a metal chair and wears a striped serape. There is a painting of a cross that says “Sacred Heart” on the background wall

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library. Collection Name: MS348-124-17. Photo ID: LaRazaUnidaNationalConvention4_sm.