Canales, Jose Tomas (1877-1976), an American lawyer and lawmaker, was a leading supporter of social justice and equal rights for Mexican Americans. In 1929, Canales helped found the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), an organization that protects the rights of Mexican Americans. He wrote much of LULAC’s first constitution, served on the organization’s first board of trustees, and was the group’s president in 1932 and 1933.
Canales was born on March 7, 1877, in Nueces County, Texas. He graduated from the University of Michigan School of Law in 1899 and returned to Texas to practice law. Canales served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1905 to 1910 and from 1917 to 1920. He was superintendent of schools in Cameron County, Texas, from 1912 to 1914 and a Cameron County judge in 1914. Canales also defended Mexican Americans against abusive treatment by law enforcement officers.
From 1930 to 1940, Canales was the city attorney for Brownsville, Texas. He argued numerous civil rights cases, including the first class-action lawsuit against the segregation of Mexican school children in Texas. He wrote numerous articles and books on religion, law, and Mexican American history. Two of his books were about his great uncle, Juan Cortina, a Mexican folk hero. Canales died on March 30, 1976.
