Herrera, John J.

John James Herrera was born on April 12, 1910, in Cravens, Louisiana. He died on October 12, 1986, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 76.

John Herrera practiced law in Houston from 1943 to 1986 and was a leading civil rights advocate for Mexican Americans in Texas. In 1948, he was a member of the legal team in the case of Minerva Delgado vs Bastrop Independent School District, which ultimately led Texas courts to rule that separate schools for Mexican American children were illegal. In 1954, Herrera authored briefs against the State of Texas in the Pete Hernandez case that resulted in a United States Supreme Court ruling that declared that the systematic exclusion of Spanish-speaking citizens from service on juries was unconstitutional. During World War II, Herrera was involved in protesting employment discrimination against Mexican Americans in Houston shipyards.

John Herrera was especially prominent in the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in which he served as national president from 1952-1953. He joined LULAC in 1933 and became convinced of the organization's potential for helping in the advancement of Hispanics. In the late 1970s, he was appointed national legal counsel for LULAC and served in that capacity into the early 1980s. He achieved the status of "lifetime distinguished member" in LULAC.

Herrera was a lifelong Democrat and politically active throughout his life. In the 1950s, he ran unsuccessfully for the Texas legislature. In the early 1960s, he was an active supporter of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Herrera relates that one of the most memorable nights of his life was on November 21, 1963, when he introduced President John F. Kennedy to a group of LULAC members gathered at the Rice Hotel for a reception. (Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on the following day.)

From the guide to the John J. Herrera Papers MSS 0160., 1940-1980, (Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library)