Historian: At 100th Anniversary, the Origins of LULAC are in San Antonio

No longer there in the 1500 block of South Flores was a barber shop where 100 years ago Tuesday, the Order Sons of America began in San Antonio.

The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute, a national organization based in San Antonio, will delve into its history during a webinar at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Cynthia Orozco, Ph.D, professor of history and humanities at Eastern New Mexico University, will discuss how Order Sons of America led to the creation of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization.

Orozco said LULAC was formed in 1929, after OSA was in 1921, by World War I veterans, small business owners and others, in response to the rampant racial violence, segregation, poor housing, and injustice experienced by Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants.