English:
Omar N. López was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and has lived in Chicago since 1958.
In 1966, he was the founding member of LADO (Latin American Defense
Organization) which organized campaigns for the rights of labor unions,
tenants and inoculation drives for students living in low-income
neighborhoods. He also advocated for the rights of families on public
assistance in the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park, Chicago.
As a teacher, Omar founded the Mexican Teachers Organization in 1973,
and was a leader in the fight for quality bilingual education for
students and for the recruitment of trained bilingual teachers.
In 1984, Omar López was instrumental in the acquisition deal
with the Chicago Park District for the building that now houses the
National Museum of Mexican Art in Harrison Park in the Pilsen
neighborhood of Chicago. He negotiated on behalf of the then emerging
Mexican Fines Arts Center, to have the old boat house facility leased
to the Mexican Fine Arts Center for 99 years!
In 1986, Omar Lopez helped facilitated and processed the legal
residency of thousands of undocumented workers and was vigilant to
ensure that agencies and individuals could not abuse Latino families by
charging exorbitant prices for processing their legalization
applications.
Mr. Lopez has been the director of C.A.L.O.R. for the past 14 years;
C.A.L.O.R. is an organization that provides services to Latinos
impacted by HIV / AIDS and other diseases.
Omar Lopez was the principal convenor and leader of the historic mega-
marches of March 10 and 1 May, 2006, in defense of the rights of
undocumented immigrant workers and all of our human and Constitutional
rights, which were then under attack by the Sensenbrenner House Bill HR
4437. These initial Chicago mega-marches, were (then) the biggest mass
mobilizations in the history of the United States and were the catalyst
for similar mega-marches throughout the USA.
Omar Lopez remains active in the leadership of the Chicago March 10th
Movement and is now the leading candidate for Congress in the 4th
district of Illinois.
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Español:
Omar N.
López, nació en San Luis Potosí,
México y ha vivido en Chicago desde 1958.
Fué
miembro fundador de LADO (Latin American Defense Organization)
Organización de Defensa Lationoamericana la cual organizaba
Uniones de Inquilinos, campañas de inoculaciones para
estudiantes de bajos recursos y abogaba por las familias en el programa
de bienestar público en la comunidad
puertorriqueña de
Humboldt Park.
Como
maestro fundó la Organización de Maestros
Mexicanos en
1973, y luchó por educación bilingüe de
calidad para
nuestros estudiantes y por el reclutamiento de maestros
bilingües
capacitados.
En 1984,
Omar López fue clave en tramitar la adquisición
con el
Distrito de Parques de Chicago del edificio que hoy alberga al Museo
Nacional de Arte en Harrison Park
En 1986,
Omar López ayudó a tramitar su residencia legal a
miles
de trabajadores indocumentados asegurándose que agencias e
individuos no abusaran de nuestras familias cobrando precios
exorbitantes.
El
señor López ha sido director de CALOR
por los
últimos 14 años; CALOR es una
organización que da
servicios a Latinos impactados por el VIH/SIDA y otras discapacidades
Omar
López fue quién convocó a nuestra
comunidad en
Chicago a salir a marchar el 10 de marzo y el 1º de mayo por
los
derechos de los trabajadores inmigrantes, las cuales han sido las
demostraciones mas grandes en la historia de los Estados Unidos y las
cuales deberán de influenciar la solución
migratoria de
12 millones de trabajadores. Omar López sigue activo en el
liderazgo del Movimiento 10 de Marzo y ahora se postula como candidato
para el Congreso en el distrito número 4 en
Illinois. |
