Bert Corona - Post-war

Post-war

Following his discharge from the Army, Corona and his wife settled in East Los Angeles, taking up residence in the Ramona Gardens housing project. With Reverend Kendrick Watson and Bill Taylor, he formed Mexican-American Committee for Justice in Housing tp open up the projects to Mexican Americans. As a result, the housing authority agreed to negotiate with the Committee.

Corona sought to return to work with the union, but found that his post had been filled during his military service. He turned instead to the docks, seeking work as a longshoreman, which he was unable to secure due to the Coast Guard's requirement that dockworkers have a security clearance.

In 1947, Corona accepted a job as a diamond salesman for his father-in-law's business. He and his family, which included his daughter Margo, who had been born during the war, relocated to Mill Valley. There, his two sons David and Frank were born.

Despite working in private business, Corona retained an interest in union activities. During the McCarthy era, however, it became more difficult to organize movements. He became involved in the effort to build the Independent Progressive Party in the Bay Area, on whose ticket former Vice President Henry A. Wallace ran. Following the failed campaign, Corona became involved in the Community Service Organization (CSO). He agreed with the goals of the CSO, but disagreed with "one of its stated reasons for organizing to keep the "reds" from establishing a base in the communities. I knew that when they referred to "reds," they meant those Mexicans who were either working with the CP or involved with ANMA, the Asociación Nacional México-Americana." The CSO directed voter registration drives that led to the election of Assemblyperson Byron Rumford, one of the first African Americans to be elected to the body, and other officials. It also took on the issues of affordable housing, police brutality, and access to public services.

Corona first met César Chávez in the late 1940s or early 1950s, after having heard positive things about him from members of the Catholic and Quaker churches. Chávez spoke at a conference sponsored by Bay Area chapters of CSO, and impressed Corona with his directness, honesty, and "down-to-earth approach."