Richard Alatorre, a groundbreaking Latino lawmaker in California and former L.A. City Councilmember for District 14, died last month at 81.
When I think about the vote of confidence I received from Richard Alatorre during my formative years as a young student, it warms my heart. And I know I’m not alone.
Many “students,” including me, were among those who paid their respects to Richard one last time last week when he was laid to rest at the L.A. Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. Richard was surrounded by a community filled with gratitude for his public service and legacy as the mariachi played “La Feria de las Flores” to begin the mass and tribute to his life.
On this Latino Heritage Month, I remember a trailblazer who paved a path for the next generation of Latino leadership across California and one who made a big impact on me.
Richard Alatorre was my councilmember when I was growing up in the Aliso Village Housing Projects in Boyle Heights, just east of downtown L.A. He had been elected to the City Council in 1985 after serving in the California State Assembly from 1973 to 1985.
I first met Richard when I was a senior at Roosevelt High School (RHS) in Boyle Heights. Roosevelt was a vivid example of the overcrowded public school in the heart of urban Los Angeles during the 1980s. It was predominantly Latino and low-income, with a significant immigrant population and students in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Due to a large number of teen pregnancies among students, the campus even had a daycare center. Graduation rates were dismally low and the general expectation of students was equally low among many decision-makers throughout the school district.
Michael Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential candidate, visited RHS that fall. I was the student body president and was asked to welcome Dukakis to our school. It was a beautiful day in my beloved hometown and I proudly stood on the stage alongside Richard and other elected representatives from the area. The U.S. flag, the California flag, and the RHS flag made beautiful waves as we stood in our assigned spots on the stage overlooking the quad.
As we waited for Dukakis to arrive, the adults onstage, including the elected officials, started a conversation among themselves. I stood in my assigned spot, observed, smiled and occasionally looked down at the index cards with my prepared remarks that I held in my hands. Richard was the only adult who walked over to me; he said, “Congratulations on being student body president.” Suddenly, I not only felt more at ease, I also felt like I belonged on that stage.
Then, Dukakis arrived and it was time for me to walk over to the podium and start the program. Thanks to Richard’s words of encouragement, I felt more confident as I delivered my welcome remarks. The crowd of roughly 5,000 students, teachers and staff looked on as I handed a gift on behalf of RHS to Dukakis.
The last words Richard said to me as he exited the RHS campus were, “You will go far. And don’t ever forget where you came from.” I respected him for acknowledging me and sharing those heartfelt wise words.
That day, excitement and pride lingered in the air as Dukakis exited our campus and left Boyle Heights. The sea of thousands of fellow students who remained in the quad chatting about the special visit looked inspired. On the Eastside, most of us hoped and expected that Dukakis would become the next President of the United States later that fall.
Although I was only 17 years old at the time (the same age as my son Diego), and therefore not old enough to vote, I was interested in elections and our democratic process. I understood the power of voting and being civically involved. I learned these values from my mom, a hard-working Mexican immigrant whose education was cut short at the tender age of nine. I witnessed the hard work it took to earn her GED in the early 1980s, become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985, and proudly cast her vote in every election since then, including for Richard Alatorre. Like me, my mom appreciated Richard’s humility y sencillez, which we took note of every time we saw him at a student scholarship banquet or reception as my graduation neared during the spring of 1989. Richard would go out of his way to greet my parents warmly; he would go around the room doing the same thing with other parents of the students being recognized. “Han de estar muy orgullosos de su hija,” is what I remember him tell my parents on one occasion.
When I was an undergraduate student at Stanford University, I wrote a letter to Richard, who was still my council member, asking for financial support for my studies abroad in Florence, Italy. I was pleasantly surprised that not only did his office respond to my letter, but he sponsored my trip! Richard even added a personal note to the letter that read, “Adelante Adriana! Best wishes.”
Richard encouraged and supported many other students, especially first-generation students from low-income families. Richard firmly believed that in order to improve educational and socio-economic opportunities for the most marginalized and under-resourced communities, we had to support the dreams of young people growing up in the barrios. And, Richard acted on those convictions; he walked the walk, not just talked the talk. El puso su granito de arena en mi educación, and I am forever grateful.
As a young person coming of age in Boyle Heights, I knew Richard to be a kind and caring human being with the courage and boldness to simultaneously be a fierce leader on behalf of an entire community.
In his honor, I will soon take my mom to breakfast at La Carreta, his favorite spot, something I learned about Richard last week.
Descanse en paz Sr. Alatorre. Gracias por todo.
Thank you Adriana for sharing your story. So inspirational! Richard Alatorre was indeed one of the Latino trailblazers. I also think of Gloria Molina and Hilda Solis. Thank you again.