Ross, as an ACRR employee, organized the Unity Leagues in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties between 19. Latinos were part of the organization from the very beginning, but the nature of their representation changed over time: World War II– era leaders were augmented by newly organized representatives of the Unity Leagues these figures were, in turn, replaced by leaders from the Community Service Organization (CSO).įred Ross played a major role in empowering Mexican Americans at the local level and further enhancing their reach and influence by networking the new leaders with more established leaders in other minority groups. CFCU members included minority organizations such as the NAACP, the Japanese American Citizens League, and local councils organized in cities around the state.

The American Council for Race Relations (ACRR), which had been active during World War II, established the California Council for Civic Unity in 1946 it became the CFCU in 1947. The group also served as an important multicultural meeting place where African American, Japanese American, Jewish, and Mexican American leaders got to know each other and work in coalition with organized labor and Catholic and Protestant leaders.

It served to advance a broad range of issues, including discrimination, immigration, segregation, housing, and voter registration. The California Federation for Civic Unity (CFCU) was a little-remembered but important civil rights group that operated between 19.

Civic unity definition