Gregorio Salazar Papers

The Mexican-American Youth Organization (MAYO) was founded in San Antonio in 1967 and was for a decade the major political organization of Mexican-American youth in Texas. It also led to the founding of the Raza Unida Party in 1970.

Like many other Mexican-American organizations in the state, MAYO sought social justice. The group stressed Chicano cultural nationalism and preferred the techniques of direct political confrontation and mass demonstration to accomplish its goals. Membership in MAYO was drawn from among Mexican-American teenagers and university students who were committed to "la raza." For a time the organization was known informally as La Raza Unida because of a series of conferences that the group organized under that heading.

MAYO identified and addressed three needs of Mexican-Americans including economic independence, local control of education, and political strength and unity through the formation of a third party. Though the general public usually became aware of MAYO through the mainstream press, the organization had its own newspapers.

Gregorio Salazar was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1950. In 1970, he emerged as a leading spokesman for MAYO in Houston where he served as the group's representative to the Mexican American Education Council (MAEC). It was through the efforts of MAEC that the Houston Independent School District adopted a tri-ethnic desegregation plan. Salazar also worked for citizens' rights in housing and fair employment. He was involved in the Raza Unida Party and called for Chicanos to come together politically. He was an active member of the Venceremos Brigade which sought to make significant structural changes within the United States government. Lastly, in 1971, Salazar ran for HISD School Board position 7 as a self-proclaimed Marxist revolutionary. Although he came in a distant third in the election, Salazar is said to have considered his placing as a victory for the community.