Rodolfo Gonzales

Federico Gonzales imparted his knowledge to his son, a struggle that culminated in the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).

Rodolfo’s mother, Indalesia Gonzales, died when Rodolfo was two years old; his father never remarried.

His siblings were raised in Denver's tough "Eastside Barrio", where the Great Depression took an even heavier toll on Mexican Americans.

However, according to Gonzales, "though the Depression was devastating to so many, we, as children, were so poor that it was hardly noticed".

The Gonzaleses were a very poor family.

Gonzales, along with his mother and siblings worked in the fields, and his father worked hard in the coal mines to provide for the family throughout Gonzales's life.

Gonzales attended high schools in Colorado and New Mexico while simultaneously working in the beet fields, and graduated from Manual High School at the age of 16.

Since his youth he demonstrated a fiery tendency, which caused his uncle to say that "He was always popping off like a cork. So, we called him Corky."

The nickname stuck.

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales (June 18, 1928 – April 12, 2005) was a Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist.

He was one of many leaders for the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado.

Rodolfo Gonzales was born the youngest of Federico and Indalesia Gonzales's eight children in Denver, Colorado in 1928.

His father had immigrated to Colorado at an early age from Chihuahua, Mexico.

Even as an immigrant, Federico Gonzales taught the histories of Mexico's struggle against Spanish domination and against Porfirio Díaz.

Gonzales's early political involvement in the Democratic party centered around campaigning for Mayor of Denver Quigg Newton in 1947, registering Latino voters for the Democratic party in 1950 and leading the Colorado "Viva Kennedy" campaign.

In February 1949, at the age of 21, Gonzales married Geraldine Romero, aged 17/18.

They had eight children, who eventually took on their father's legacy of the Crusade for Justice.

Gonzales had a successful professional boxing career and at one time was ranked as a top three Featherweight by Ring Magazine.

However, he always lost when competing at the highest level and never received a shot at the title.

He retired from the ring in 1955 after compiling a record of 63 wins, 11 losses, and 1 draw.

Gonzales found the sport empowering, saying, "I bleed as the vicious gloves of hunger cut my face and eyes, as I fight my way from stinking barrios to the glamour of the ring and the lights of fame or mutilated sorrow."

His success in boxing lent him a prominence that he would later capitalize upon during his political career.

The Crusade for Justice was an urban rights and Chicano cultural urban movement during the 1960s focusing on social, political, and economic justice for Chicanos.

In 1966, Gonzales had written a letter of resignation to Alfredo J. Hernandez, the chair of SER in Denver, stating, “S.E.R., is offering a gateway to a society that offers hypocrisy, sterilization, castration, and neurosis in exchange for the values of integrity that are inherent in our culture...I will not compromise my principles, me ideals and my honor to be seated at the same table with hypocrites.” Gonzales concluded that the two-party system offered little benefit.

Believing Chicanos could not rely on the "gringo establishment" to provide education, economic stability, or social acceptance, he sought alternatives.

The Crusade for Justice was an idea born from the Fisherman's meetings.

These meetings were the original organization of Chicanos discussing issues surrounding Chicano rights and culture.

The Fisherman meetings started out small, without the structure the Crusade for Justice developed later.

The goal was to gain a following, and to spread education on the injustices Chicanos were experiencing.

To begin with, the Fisherman's meetings were only open to men.

Gonzales's successful efforts to organize for change within the Democratic party became a crucial turning point toward Chicano Nationalist politics and the foundation of the Crusade for Justice in 1967.

Gonzales convened the first-ever Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in 1968, which was poorly attended due to timing and weather conditions.

He tried again in March 1969, and established what is commonly known as the First Chicano Youth Liberation Conference.

This conference was attended by many future Chicano activists and artists.

It also birthed the Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, a pro-indigenist manifesto advocating revolutionary Chicano nationalism and self-determination for all Chicanos.

Through the Crusade for Justice, Gonzales organized the Mexican American people of Denver to fight for their cultural, political, and economic rights, leaving his mark on history.

He was honored with a Google Doodle in continued celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States on 30 September 2021.

He was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

When Gonzales turned to politics, he was ranked the 5th best boxer in the world.

He once fought Willie Pep, losing by decision.