González, Henry B. (Henry Barbosa), 1916-2000

<p>Henry González served 37 years in the House, making him the longest-serving Hispanic Member in Congress. A pioneering, populist figure in Texas state politics, he was revered by his hometown constituents, who knew him as “Henry B.” González rejected radical reformers, pursuing a strategy of effecting change from within the system. His pugnacious style and undeterred commitment to causes and programs he held dear often left him marginalized by those in power at the national level. “Given that the power to influence decisions that affect our lives is concentrated in the established systems of our government, I felt that I could contribute by participating in that process,” González wrote. “There is a place for those who remain outside these processes, but I felt that I could contribute by influencing policy from the inside. Yet even on the inside I have largely remained an outsider because of my refusal to surrender my independence.”</p>

<p>Enrique (Henry) Barbosa González was born on May 3, 1916, in San Antonio, Texas, to Leonides González Cigarroa and Genevieve Barbosa Prince de González. His father’s ancestors immigrated to Mexico from the Basque region of Spain and settled in the state of Durango, in northern Mexico, where many of them worked as silver miners; his mother was of mixed Scottish and Hispanic ancestry. In 1911 Gonzaléz’s parents fled Durango during the Mexican revolution, leaving behind their upper-middle-class life in Mapimi, where Leonides was mayor. Establishing a secure economic footing in the United States was difficult for the González family, which grew to include Henry and his five siblings. Leonides served as editor of San Antonio’s La prensa newspaper, and the family home became a salon for expatriate Mexican intellectuals and politicians. Encouraged by his parents, Henry immersed himself in literary classics and in key Western political tracts. Henry attended the local public schools, learning English and working part-time during elementary school to help support his family. He graduated from Jefferson High School in 1935 and attended San Antonio College, where he earned an associate’s degree in 1937. For two years he attended the University of Texas in Austin, studying engineering and law, but he put his educational plans on hold during the Great Depression because he could not find enough work to pay his tuition. In 1943 González graduated with a bachelor of laws degree (LL.B.) from the St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, which granted him an honorary J.D. degree in 1965. During World War II, he served as a navy and an army intelligence censor for radio broadcasts and cable traffic. From 1943 to 1946, González was assistant chief probation officer for Bexar County’s juvenile court. He resigned from his post as chief probation officer when a local judge forbade him to hire an African American for his staff. Later Gonzaléz worked for the San Antonio Housing Authority, eventually managing a housing project on the western edge of the city. He married the former Bertha Cuellar in 1940 and they raised eight children: Henry B., Jr.; Rose Mary; Charles; Bertha; Stephen; Genevieve; Francis; and Anna Marie.</p>

<p>González’s work in probation and public housing gave him entrée to thousands of homes in the city and hence wide name recognition, which helped him to found the Pan American Progressive Association (PAPA) in 1947. Organizing businessmen to contribute to the larger community “responded to my belief that we in the Hispanic community needed to quit complaining about how bad things were and instead do something to help ourselves,” he recalled years later.</p>

GONZÁLEZ, Henry B., (Father of Charles A. Gonzalez), a Representative from Texas; born in San Antonio, Bexar County, Tex., May 3, 1916; attended the University of Texas, Austin, Tex.; graduated from San Antonio College, San Antonio, Tex., 1935; graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law, San Antonio, Tex., 1943; business consultant; chief probation officer of Bexar County, Tex., 1945-1947; member of the San Antonio, Tex., city council, 1953-1956; member of the Texas state senate, 1956-1961; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-seventh Congress by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Paul J. Kilday and reelected to the eighteen succeeding Congresses (November 4, 1961-January 3, 1999); chairman, Select Committee on Assassinations (Ninety-fifth Congress), Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (One Hundred First through One Hundred Third Congresses); was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Sixth Congress in 1998; died in San Antonio, Tex., on November 28, 2000; interment at San Fernando Cemetery II, San Antonio, Tex.

<p>Henry Barbosa González (born Enrique Barbosa González; May 3, 1916 – November 28, 2000) was an American Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Texas, who represented Texas's 20th congressional district from 1961 to 1999.</p>

<p>González was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Mexican-born parents Genoveva (née Barbosa) and Leonides Gonzalez (from Mapimi, Durango), who had immigrated during the Mexican Revolution. After he received an associate's degree from San Antonio College, he earned his undergraduate credentials from the University of Texas at Austin. Later, he received a Juris Doctorate from St. Mary's University School of Law, also in San Antonio. Upon graduation, he became a probation officer, and was quickly promoted to the chief office of Bexar County, Texas. In 1945, he quit after a judge refused to allow him to add an African-American probation officer to his staff. In 1950, he was scoutmaster of Troop 90 in San Antonio, of which his son was a member.</p>

<p>González served on the San Antonio City Council from 1953 to 1956. As a city councilmember, González helped desegregate swimming pools and other public accommodations in San Antonio.</p>