Since the early 1970’s Vilma Socorro Martínez has been one of the major advocates for Hispanic Americans in America. Vilma Martinez was born into a Mexican American family on October 17, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, she grew up in a segregated world where the climate of racial hostility attempted to limit her in her goals. However, growing up in this atmosphere only encouraged her further. At the age of 15, she volunteered for a firm of a local Hispanic lawyer, Alonso Perales, which motivated to pursue a legal career dedicated to breaking down racial barriers (“Who is Vilma Martínez?”).
As an honor student in high school, she was often discouraged by her counselor to pursue a high education. She was persuaded to attend trade school, …show more content…
It was in this case where the court and government acknowledged that a company’s practices could inadvertently be discriminatory even if it did not intend to perpetuate racial imbalance by the specific policies it enforces. For example, if a company hired candidates solely based on their training and it could be proven that minorities had in the past been prevented from receiving such training, then the training requirements for the job were discriminatory (GRIGGS v. DUKE POWER CO., (1971)). This court opinion was one of the first of its kind to consider how past segregation and existing discrimination largely limited and prevented the advancement of minorities in the work place. This became a precedent to one of the most prevalent usage of affirmative action within the application process for colleges and universities.
Martinez continued with her work when she became the first woman to join the board of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDED). In 1973, she was hired as the advocacy organization 's general counsel and president. Under her tenure, MALDEF made U.S. civil rights history when she directed the program that helped secure an extension of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to include Mexican Americas among the other groups it protected
As an honor student in high school, she was often discouraged by her counselor to pursue a high education. She was persuaded to attend trade school, …show more content…
It was in this case where the court and government acknowledged that a company’s practices could inadvertently be discriminatory even if it did not intend to perpetuate racial imbalance by the specific policies it enforces. For example, if a company hired candidates solely based on their training and it could be proven that minorities had in the past been prevented from receiving such training, then the training requirements for the job were discriminatory (GRIGGS v. DUKE POWER CO., (1971)). This court opinion was one of the first of its kind to consider how past segregation and existing discrimination largely limited and prevented the advancement of minorities in the work place. This became a precedent to one of the most prevalent usage of affirmative action within the application process for colleges and universities.
Martinez continued with her work when she became the first woman to join the board of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDED). In 1973, she was hired as the advocacy organization 's general counsel and president. Under her tenure, MALDEF made U.S. civil rights history when she directed the program that helped secure an extension of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to include Mexican Americas among the other groups it protected