Title	Benito Lopez with March Organizers
Owning Institution	Velasquez Family
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Required Credit Line	Use must be accompanied with the attribution: Indiana Historical Society.
Item ID	LFD2017_0373_BENITO LOPEZ_IN BROWN W HAT_WITH ORGANIZERS_EARLY 70S
Description	In April of 1971, Benito Lopez, Carmen Velasquez, and staff from AMOS (Associated Migrant Opportunity Services, Inc.) and supporters of migrant farm workers rights organized a march from Marion, Indiana to the Governor's Mansion in Indianapolis, Indiana. The marchers walked the roughly 61 miles via highway 37. Maria Carmen Juarez was born in Parsons, Kansas in January of 1921. Her parents, Catalina Rico Juarez and Jose Juarez immigrated to the United States from the State of Guanajuato in Mexico to Kansas at different times. The Rico family migrated sometime in the late 1910s to escape the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution. Catalina and Jose moved to Chicago, Illinois shortly after Maria Carmen’s birth. In 1941, Maria Carmen married Albert Velasquez in Chicago, and then the pair made their move to Fairmount, Indiana to live with Albert’s family. Soon after starting their family, they moved to Marion, Indiana. Maria Carmen’s childhood was affected by polio, in which she spent her time in hospitals and convalescent homes. Her time spent observing the nuns and social workers planted the seed for her future advocacy work. She first began as a sole volunteer in the 1960s, reaching out to migrant farm workers and their families as well as reaching out to the community and the local Catholic Church to help assist those families. Her work garnered the support of St. Paul’s Church and the Third Order of St. Francis priests. A seminarian worked with Carmen to write the articles of incorporation to develop the organization called AMOS or Associated Migrant Opportunity Services, Inc. AMOS was a not for profit that was funded by the Indiana Office of Economic Opportunities.
Subject	Hispanic Americans Hispanic Americans--History Men Women Protest movements Marching Signs
Date	1971
Time Period	1970s (1970-1979)
Geographic Location	Indiana--Grant County--Marion
Source Collection Name	Carmen Juarez Velasquez
Source Collection Number	2017.0373
Digital Collection Name	Latino and Hispanic Heritage Collection
Digital Collection Number	dc095
Format of Original	Photographic print, color
Digital Format	JP2000
Resolution	600
Notes	IHS does not own the original material. This item was loaned for digitization.
Type	Image
Copyright Notice	Digital Image 2018 Indiana Historical Society. All Rights Reserved.
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Benito Lopez with March Organizers

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