Voting Station

Reies Lopez Tijerina

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Advocate

The Resume

    (September 21, 1926-January 19, 2015)
    Born in Falls City, Texas
    Led the Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants)
    Fought to help Mexican-Americans regain lands from the federal government
    Led the 1967 armed raid on the Tierra Amarilla courthouse
    Book is 'They Called Me King Tiger: My Struggle for the Land and Our Rights'

Why he might be annoying:

    His activism was steeped in violence.
    He made anti-Semitic comments during interviews.
    He was known for being verbally and physically abusive towards his first wife.
    He led followers in raiding a courthouse in Tierra Amarilla in an attempt a citizen’s arrest of the district attorney (1967).
    He was later convicted of destruction of federal property and assault on a federal officer and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
    The publicity around the Incident had the opposite effect intended and alienated mainstream supporters, who instead chose to be seen with nonviolent activists like Cesar Chavez.
    La Alianza membership declined during his incarceration, and he was prohibited from holding any leadership position in the organization under the terms of his release in 1971.
    He liked to give sexist sermons - like claiming to have had a vision where he was appointed God's secretary in Heaven while his wife stayed home dutifully sweeping the floors.
    When his biographer asked him about his daughter's allegation that he sexually abused her, he claimed he was just 'checking her virginity' (oh, that's promising).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the child of migrant farmworkers.
    He was into numerology.
    He was an effective agitator.
    He was one of the earliest Chicano rights activists to reach out to Martin Luther King (the two spoke at an event only weeks before he was assassinated).
    He led the Latino contingent for the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.
    He inspired a generation of young Mexican-American activists.
    He moved to central Mexico in 1994 after his New Mexico home burned in a fire.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 16 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 10 Votes: 100% Annoying