Ralph C. Guzmán (1924-October 10, 1985, born Rafael Cortez Guzmán) served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of Latin America in the

Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

and was one of the nation's leading Latino educators. He co-founded the

Oakes College Oakes College is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. It is on the southwestern corner of the campus, south of Rachel Carson College and east of the Family Student Housing complex. Oakes was founded in 1972 as Colleg ...

at the University of California at Santa Cruz and later was appointed

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

at UCSC's

Merrill College Merrill College is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The theme of the college, and the name of its freshman core course, is "cultural identities and global consciousness." Location Merrill is located at the far ...

. Guzmán played an influential role in the early years of the

Chicano Movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento (Spanish for "the Movement"), was a civil rights movements, social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano, Chicano identity and worldview that combated ...

, and was a key figure in the

Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

community nationwide. During his time in the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, he was responsible for formulating and implementing much of the nation's policy in Central and South America.

Early life and education

Born in Moroleon, Guanajuato in 1924, Rafael Cortez Guzmán

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to the U.S. as a child during

the Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and worked for several years with his family in the fields of the Southwest before settling in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

. He served in the Merchant Marines and

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, participating in the final assault on Okinawa, and returned to complete an A.A. at East Los Angeles Junior College under the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

in 1949. After the war, he enrolled at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

, where he earned bachelor's (1958) and master's (1960) degrees in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. In 1955 he was named director of the

Alianza Hispano-Americana Alianza may refer to: Sport * Alianza Atlético, Peru * Alianza Petrolera F.C., Columbia * Alianza Universidad, Peru * Club Alianza Lima, Peru * Alianza F.C. (Colombia) * Alianza F.C. (El Salvador) * Alianza F.C. (Panama) Music * Alianza (Arge ...

's (a Mexican American fraternal insurance society) newly founded civil rights department, where he cultivated his skill in developing community support organizations. Along with Fred Ross Sr. and Congressman Edward R. Roybal, Guzmán assisted in the founding of the

Community Service Organization The Community Service Organization (founded 1947) was an important California Latino civil rights organization, most famous for training Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Founding and Early Success The Community Service Organization (CSO) was ...

in the Los Angeles area. Following three years spent serving as Associate Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

contingents in Venezuela and Peru, Guzmán returned to Los Angeles and became one of the few Chicano graduate students (and first to receive a Ph.D. in political science) at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. There, while completing his studies, he was appointed a director of the Mexican-American Study Project, and helped develop ''The Mexican Americans: Our Second Minority'' (NY, 1970).

Research and legacy

Dr. Guzmán's research, put forth in ''The Mexican Americans:'' ''Our Second Minority,'' was essential to the Chicano Anti-Vietnam Movement. His researched showed that disproportionate numbers of Latino Americans were dying in the war. Guzman drew his conclusions from US military records and the surnames of the casualties, identifying Spanish surnames as Latinos. Recently, Pomona College historian Tomas Summers Sandoval revisited Guzman's work using more thoroughly tested surnames lists and confirmed Guzmán's conclusions. In the 2015 PBS documentary '' On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam,'' which examines the Latino experience during the Vietnam War, Sandoval says in an interview, "The Chicano Anti Vietnam War Movement does not exist without the research of Ralph Guzman. He is the verifiable proof of their common sense understanding that this war was disproportionately affecting our community."''On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam''. Dir. Myléne Moreno. Souvenir Pictures, Inc., 2015. ITunes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Rafael Cortez 1924 births 1985 deaths California State University, Los Angeles alumni Carter administration personnel East Los Angeles College alumni Latin Americanists Mexican emigrants to the United States People from East Los Angeles, California Politicians from Guanajuato Politicians from Los Angeles United States Navy personnel of World War II University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Santa Cruz faculty People from Moroleón