Adelfa Callejo’s activism was part of her lifelong strategy

By Mercedes Olivera, Dallas Morning News

Strategize.

That was Dallas attorney and civil rights advocate Adelfa Callejo’s favorite word.

Her eyes would sparkle like diamonds, and a smile would cross her face when she heard it, says her nephew, J.D. Gonzales.

It didn’t matter the topic. Whether it was sitting down with 11 other Latino advocates to brainstorm and hash out ideas on increasing the number of Hispanics on city boards and commissions in the 1970s, or asking for a Justice Department investigation of Dallas police shootings in the 1980s, or electing Latinos to the Dallas school board and City Council in the ’90s, she relished strategizing.

“She was a negotiator,” like most attorneys, Gonzales said. And it didn’t matter what the setting was — a courtroom or a boardroom or a classroom — she was always thinking about strategies to win her case.

Ever the optimist, she truly believed she would overcome her last adversary.

Click HERE to red the full story.

[Photo courtesy of Texashistory.unt.edu]

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