Early Life and Education
Born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr. in the City Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles County's Eastside, Villaraigosa attended both Catholic and public schools. His father immigrated to the USA and became a successful businessman, but lost his wealth during the Great Depression. His young wife left him at this time. His father abandoned their family when Villaraigosa was 5 years old, and at age of 16, a benign tumor in his spinal column briefly paralyzed him from the waist down, curtailing his ability to play sports. His grades plummeted at Cathedral High School, and the next year, he was expelled from the Roman Catholic institution after getting into a fight after a football game. He later graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School after taking adult education classes there at night, and with the help of his English teacher, Herman Katz.
Villaraigosa went on to attend East Los Angeles College, and eventually transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1977. At UCLA, he was a leader of MEChA, an organization that seeks to promote Chicano unity and empowerment through political action. At this time, he went by the name "Tony Villar" but began using his birth name, Antonio, to win support in the Hispanic community . After UCLA, Villaraigosa attended the Peoples College of Law (PCL). His desire to practice law has been prevented due to his repeated inability to pass the California Bar Exam, which he has failed four times. After PCL, he became a field representative/organizer with the United Teachers Los Angeles. He later served as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees.
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