Page 12 - Phoenix Vol 11 No 4

Los Abogados
Legal Advocacy for the Latino Community Since 1976
BY DAN BALDWIN
A LOOK BACK
BY DANNY ORTEGA A, FOUNDING PARTNER ORTEGA LAW FIRM P.C
In the spring of 1968, a group of Hispanic students from Arizona State University visited the campus of Phoenix Union High School to speak to students with interests in attending the university. I was a sophomore and had a desire to attend college, so I decided to attend the meeting.
In the discussion I was asked by one of the university students what career I wanted to pursue. I responded that I wanted to be a Spanish teacher. His response was encouraging, but asked why I wanted to be a Spanish teacher. I explained that I was uent in English and Spanish which motivated me to want to teach Spanish to English speakers. I had completed two Span- ish courses and my Hispanic teachers were inspirational role models.
e student commented that I should also consider a career as a doctor, lawyer or an engi- neer. I nodded my head with approval not really understanding what it would take to pursue one of those career paths. e only lawyer and doctor I knew about at the time were television characters Perry Mason and Ben Casey. e conversation with the ASU student changed the course of my life.
Today, due in part to that conversation, I graduated from ASU Law School in 1977 and am proud to be an attorney for over 40 years.
At the time, most Hispanic families that I knew didn’t have relatives who graduated from college or a university. e closest college graduates that we were exposed to were educators and they were seldom Hispanic. Historically, Latinos in Arizona have su ered discrimina- tion and poverty. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hispanics responded by engaging in political activi- ties and creating organizations involved in programs that dealt with poverty, unemployment, neighborhood improvement, and education. Chicanos Por La Causa and Valle del Sol are two examples of these organizations in Phoenix. During this time, political activism received a ma- jor boost from the emerging civil rights movement, known as the Chicano Movement. Arizona was no exception.
My personal story and the social, political and economic conditions that existed are illustra- tions for the reasons why the Hispanic community has faced a shortage of college educated pro- fessionals, and particularly lawyers who speak their language and can relate to their concerns.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · PHOENIX· VOL. 11 NO. 4 12