 Rodolfo “Corky”
Gonzales was a MexicanAmerican boxer, political
activist and poet.
 He was born on June 18,
1928 and he died on April
12, 2005.
 He was born in Denver,
Colorado.
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales
studied engineering in
college for one semester.
After realizing he couldn’t
afford to attend college, he
turned to boxing.
He was inducted into the
Colorado Sports Hall of
Fame in 1988.
 Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales
became a political activist
during the 1960’s.
 He was the leader of the
“Viva Kennedy” campaign
in 1960.
 He supported equal rights
for Mexican-Americans in
education, politics, and
housing.
 Gonzales wrote the epic
poem I am Joaquin and it
was published in 1967.
 Luis Valdez, the director of
Zoot Suit and La Bamba,
made a short film about I
am Joaquin in 1969.
 The poem’s main theme is
the struggle that MexicanAmericans have when
assimilating into American
culture.
 The Vietnam War
 Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United
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States.
Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American
appointed to the Supreme Court.
The Civil Rights Movement
Urban Riots which became more intense after the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The East Los Angeles high school student walk-outs