"The Heard Voice: The Emergence of the Hispanic across the Mid-West, 1971-1985"

In March, 1985 the San Diego Union reported upon a local event in Nebraska that it recognized as part of a significant nation-wide development. The story involved the awarding of a $300,000 state block grant which would enable a Scottsbluff meat packing plant to remain in operation. The focal point of the success story was the role played by the Nebraska Mexican-American Commission. The Commission focused state-wide attention on the problem, facilitated communication among agencies, and was key in the solution to the problem.The Union reporter, Steve Padilla, noted that the work of the Nebraska Commission was just one example of the activities of many state-level Hispanic commissions spread across the United States. He wrote that, "Like other Hispanic commissions, the Nebraska group was charged with serving as a liaison between Hispanics and state government and gave the state's small Hispanic community a voice that would have gone unheard otherwise."1Peter Urdiales was a part of that voice. Serving as the Director of the Nebraska Commission in 1978, Urdiales wrote in the commission newsletter, that "The progress and involvement of the Commission in issues and projects is indicative of the positive strides being made by our people. Not only must we be involved but we must also start asking questions and getting answers if we are to get a piece of the mythical pie."2The decade of the 1970s witnessed the emergence of state government Hispanic advocacy agencies across the Midwest. These groups varied in the nature of their genesis and their definition and relative effectiveness. They would be hampered with budgetary, legal, and social constraints but they would all strive to identify an agenda of Hispanic needs and work to give voice to the Hispanic community.The United States Midwest is officially defined by the Census Bureau as the 12 states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. 3 Over the 1970s state-level Hispanic advocacy agencies of some design emerged in all of these states except for the Dakotas.In March, 1971 the governor of Wisconsin appointed a Task Force on Problems of the Spanish-Speaking to hold public hearings and assess the needs of Hispanics in the state. At the end of its three month tenure the Task Force issued a report to the governor. In October, 1975 the governor's office requested a state agency review of issues raised in the earlier report. Out of this review emerged a consensus by both community and governmental leaders that a formal body should be established. In January, 1975 the governor created The Governor's Council for Spanish Speaking People. The council was comprised of fifteen members, two from the legislatures, and thirteen citizens from across the state appointed by the governor. A bill to make the Council a permanent commission was offered in 1978 but was narrowly defeated. In June of that year the Council was renamed the Governor's Committee on Hispanic Affairs.4In Nebraska, the year 1971 found Mexican-American community leaders lobbying the new governor of the state for a commission to gather information on Mexican-American issues. In November, 1971 J.J. Exon announced the creation of the Nebraska Mexican-American Commission as a governor's advisory body. Strong support for the Commission translated into successful legislative action to re-create the Commission as a state agency in March, 1972. The Commission consisted of nine community members, appointed by the Governor, plus a representative of the Governor's office as an ad hoc member.5In Illinois, the Spanish Speaking Peoples Study Commission was created by the General Assembly in September, 1971. The ten member commission consisted of three members of each house of the legislature and four community members appointed by each legislative branch. The appointments and founding institutional process took up much of the following year, and the new commission began its duties in July, 1972. …