Dia De Los Muertos: LA Activist Dionicio Morales Is Dead

Activist Dionicio Morales has died at the age of 89. Morales went from picking apricots and walnuts to creating the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in 1963, the nation’s largest provider of human services targeted towards Latinos. A little about Morales’ life and accomplishments:

In the 1970s, at a time when Mexican American men overwhelmingly held the reins of neighborhood activism, Morales also opened doors for female leaders.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina recalled being a young activist at East Los Angeles College, demonstrating over issues such as the Vietnam War, when she first met Morales.

“We were so anti-establishment. We didn’t trust people. But he was really a man all about empowering the community,” Molina said. “He really believed that every person should have a job, and that once you had a job, you could do anything.”

And like some other sort-of famous person who once sat under a tree, famously, one of Morales’ best ideas came from sitting underneath an avocado tree:

In 1963, he sat under an avocado tree towering over his Pico Rivera home and pondered ways to launch what would become the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation. He decided to call President Kennedy at the White House.

“I said, ‘I want to talk to the president about economic development for Mexican Americans,’ ” Morales recalled. “And they said, ‘You’ve got the wrong number. You need to call the Mexican Embassy.’ ”

Morales called the embassy and was told that Vice President Lyndon Johnson was meeting with the ambassador to discuss the same issues. Morales became a local hero of sorts after he persuaded Johnson to come to Los Angeles and meet with members of the Mexican American community. Johnson eventually helped him secure funding for his foundation from the Department of Labor.

Avocados. Brain food. Just like our mom always told us. Anyway: RIP, Dionicio. You will be greatly missed - but always warmly remembered.

L.A. activist Dionicio Morales dies [LA Times]