Selected Interview Segments: Tony Bonilla Sr.

  
  
  

Tony Bonilla Sr.,
Chair, National Hispanic Leadership Conference
Copyright 2007 South Texas Public Broadcasting System, INC.

Q: Can you explain some of the excitement and actual work you and Dr. Garcia did in creating the Viva Kennedy clubs?

A: Dr. Hector already had the G.I. Forum organization in place then. So, the members of the American G.I. Forum would naturally become members of the Viva Kennedy Club. I was active in the LULAC organization and therefore, LULAC members, would naturally were expected to become members of the Viva Kennedy Club.

And, I think there was some nominal fee that was paid for becoming a member and we had these Viva Kennedy cards printed and, because Dr. Garcia was national coordinator, he named me, South Texas coordinator of Viva Kennedy. I therefore, throughout different parts of South Texas, sometimes with the Dr. and we organized these communities into Viva Kennedy Clubs, and then spoke about, getting people registered. In those days, you had to pay a poll tax, getting them to pay their poll tax and then, of course, getting them organized to go out and vote. We had it broken down by streets, and, we had people assigned to go out and cover those particular streets or blocks. There was this incredible enthusiasm that was generated, through the Dr.'s leadership and through the charismatic leadership of Kennedy himself and his whole team.

Q: After Kennedy was elected, there were some opportunities for Dr. Hector, such as the West Indies Treaty signing appointment, and then as you mentioned earlier some trips to the White House. Can you talk about those events represented at that time as a positive influence for you and others?

A: Those of us who were young people who had just gotten out of law school or just got graduated from any university, we did not have any knowledge of any Hispanics having access to the highest level of government. So, after Kennedy was elected, right off the shoot, he names Dr. Garcia to serve as his representative to the West Indies. We considered that an incredible achievement because now you had one of our favorite sons, so to speak, from our small city of Corpus Christi, going to Washington D.C. and representing the president of the United States. That was unheard of. Then, that was followed by an invitation to the White House. He was to wear white tie and tails and, of course, Dr. Garcia being the humble man that he was and so being a doctor who served the poor, for him, that was quite an achievement and quite an honor because I suspect that he never had worn white tie and tails before. It gave us a cause for hope and it also generated the kind of enthusiasm for expanding our political base, getting more people involved in politics, more people to pay their poll tax, and more people to go out and vote and we began to see a "little bit" of change.

Q: In regards to watching him speak to a group of people, specifically in Spanish and rally that group as an effective leader what did you observe?

A: The way he spoke and made use of his hands and he had that ability to speak and use these gestures and raise his voice and lower his voice and sometimes even project this image of being angry, and people would listen and they would respond. Some people, he could make people cry just like that, in making a speech. I had occasion to go to some of these small communities and he'd walk in and if he was upset with the fact that they didn't have a packed house, he may just scold those people and then walk right out. And, of course, those people would be all upset, so that the next time he called a meeting, everybody was gonna make sure that they were all there, because he had this uncanny ability to know how to touch the people's nerves.

He had a tape recorder in his office. So, he'd get in one of those rooms and he'd get in there and he'd start making a speech and he wouldn't talk to anybody except the tape recorder. He could get so wound up just talking to this tape recorder and it was so fascinating to watch him operate. Then those tapes would be dubbed and they'd be sent of to the Spanish speaking radio stations and they wouldn't know whether he was at the station or not, but that Dr. Hector.

And, I learned a great deal from him in watching him operate. I loved the way that he was assertive. I remember very distinctly when Lyndon Johnson was running for vice president of the United States and we had a huge rally for him at the airport and there were just all kinds of people, all of the movers and shakers in Corpus Christi. Dr. Hector is the only one who walked up that ramp after Lyndon was getting ready to leave. He was the only one who walked up that ramp to say good-bye to him and-and, in fact, he had a picture taken with him that was in his office for the longest time and it's probably in his archives where he's standing on the ramp with Lyndon Johnson waving to the crowd. I stayed behind and just watched in awe that he could be that aggressive and I learned that from him - that you have to take your chances. You have to be assertive. You have to be aggressive. When you have that opening, take it because there may not be another opportunity. I liked watching him do that. I don't think we ever had any real, disagreements in terms of strategies, or approaches. I was kinda like the new kid on the block, learning a great deal.

Q: During the 1960's there were significant political battles between Dr. Garcia and Bonilla family - and between the G.I. Forum and LULAC. One particular instance came when Dr. Garcia stated at a EEOC meeting that "Texas is not worth fighting for." Could you comment on these battles and why they happened?

A: I'm gonna be very candid with you about this, because this is my view. In 1964, my brother William was national president of LULAC. In 1964, I was elected to the Texas state legislature. So, now you had these two Bonilla brothers who were in positions of prominence and who were with the LULAC organization. I'm running for reelection in 1966. I think that the emergence of the Bonilla brothers and the emergence of the LULAC organization as a major challenge to the leadership of Dr. Hector who had been there since '48, was a real challenge to him and the only way he could emerge as the godfather and as the kingpin in the Hispanic community, was to, uh, pick a fight. And, I took it hook, line and sinker. And we did pick a fight and he won. And, that was a very bitter campaign that created a lot of division in the Hispanic community and it took a few years to patch up. But, when it did patch up, we became real close political allies. And by working together, you know, on many issues, it had a tremendously positive impact on this community.

So, this statement about "Texas is not worth fighting for" was, even though it wasn't made directly to me, it was made at an entirely different setting, the very next day, it was a Sunday morning. I was speaking in Flour Bluff at their annual fish fry (chuckles) and I said, "Texas is worth fighting for." And, you know, and I made some specific comment about, anybody who says otherwise is wrong, etc. And then all hell broke loose. We had a real donnybrook, but, t was a real fascinating race because, you had many local Hispanic leaders who were on radio supporting me and, of course, Dr. Garcia and his sister and the labor union leaders opposing me and I was defeated in my bid for reelection. But, the split was so wide that in November, a Republican was elected to that position for the first time in history. And, I think we all learned a valuable lesson about fighting each other.