Alberto Antonio Peña Jr.

Alberto Antonio Peña Jr. (December 15, 1917 – July 3, 2006) was an American civil rights activist. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Peña sought to improve the treatment of Mexican-Americans in his local community. With his schooling in law, Peña fought several school districts on their segregation policies which won him popularity within civil rights circles. He served four terms as Bexar County Commissioner from 1956 to 1972. Alberto Jr. first attended St. Mary's Catholic School, but as he was the oldest of eight children, his father could not afford the tuition. Alberto Jr. then attended Stephen F. Austin Elementary. Once his primary schooling was completed, he continued on to Hawthorne Junior High School.

Family As Peña Jr. was finishing his law degree, Albert and Olga's first child together, William Albert Peña, was born. After William "Bill" Peña, Olga had four girls with Albert Jr.: Sandra Francis, Mary Magdalena, Olga, and Roxanne Peña. Peña passed the bar on August 20, 1951, and could legally start practicing law with his license. Peña ran for the state legislature in 1952 and 1954 but lost both times. In 1956, he ran for Bexar County Commissioner and with his wife Olga's connections with the community, he was elected the first Mexicano commissioner for that county. After he held elected office, Peña had better means to support his family while simultaneously being able to help the Mexicano community. After serving four consecutive terms, Peña lost his reelection bid in 1972. Olga continued to manage Albert's campaigns until their divorce in 1972.

Links to the African American community

NAACP Because the African-American community shared similar interests as the Mexican American community, Peña and other leaders supported each other and shared a mutually beneficial relationship. After coming back from the war, Peña Jr. befriended the black community and discovered the many ways in which both communities faced segregation. In December 1957 Peña was elected to the board of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch and in the following spring he became the chair.

Harvey Case Albert had established previous relationships with the black community and their leaders such as Claude Black. Due to this relationship, many Civil Rights leaders sought his advice and counsel for legal matters. "Sporty" Harvey was an up-and-coming African American boxer referred to Albert Peña Jr. by local black leaders after having been denied a mixed match by the state labor commissioner. Mixed matches were those between members of different races. Harvey thought he could gain the title of boxing champion in his weight classification but the denial of mixed matches proved to be a barrier for him and his sought-after title.

Peña brought the case to court and argued that Harvey's rights were being violated because he was not allowed to fight against a white opponent due to his race. The judge hearing the case ruled in favor of the state labor commissioner saying that boxing was not a fundamental right, and thus the Fourteenth amendment did not offer any protection in this case. Peña sought the help of Carlos Cadena and Maury Maverick Jr. in appealing the case. On appeal, Harvey won his case and was allowed to fight against white opponents. In 1955, he became the first African American boxer to fight a white opponent in Texas.