Luisa Moreno was an influential social and civil rights activist in the United States. As a Latin American woman in the U.S. during the early to mid-1900’s, Moreno faced discrimination due to her ethnicity and gender as did many immigrant farmworkers and laborers. Although less known than other activists such as Cesar Chavez, Moreno played a key role in advocating for fair wages and safe working conditions for Latina laborers. She worked with organizations such as the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA), which consisted of mainly female members, to represent and unionize laborers.
In 1938, Moreno brought together over 100 organizations for the El Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española, which translates to the Spanish-Speaking People's Congress. This was one of the first U.S. assemblies to advocate for Latinx rights. Moreno fore fronted the issue of unfair wages and Latinx civil rights through this organization. Related to the issue of civil rights, Moreno was involved in the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial and organized the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee to help defend the Mexican youth. Since migrant workers were brought in to the U.S. to bolster wartime production, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service actively attempted to deport Mexicans and other immigrant workers after the war in Operation Wetback. As a result of her activism, Moreno was targeted for deportation and left the U.S. in 1950.
Moreno’s historical significance is due to her avid activism despite the discrimination she faced being classified as part of a minority group. She is an underrepresented voice due to the way she was ultimately forced to leave the U.S. Additionally, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) attempted to remove her union from their membership, further exemplifying the suppression of subaltern histories and voices. In the picture below, she is at the 1949 CIO convention, preparing to deliver a speech to attest why her union should remain in the CIO.
