Loya Raul

Mexican-American teacher and workers rights activist, known for his association with Cesar Chavez and the National Farm Workers Association. Loya and his friends Alfredo Fuller and Ray Rodriguez started their own newspaper in a small house in Indio, California. The newspaper was then called IDEAL and it has been acknowledged as the first newspaper for the Chicano community in the United States. In 1969, Raul Loya was admonished from Indio High School for unprofessional conduct. Loya also served prison time at the Banning Road Camp. In prison, Raul met inmates who were also unjustly there and wrote letters on their behalf. Raul and the three other defendants appealed their sentence and continued the legal battle while behind bars. They were supported by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and their case eventually made it to the Supreme Court of California and was overturned. The four defendants; Raul Loya, Tom Kay, James Caswell and Alfredo Figueroa became known as the California Four after their release. Raul Loya died on 1 April 2015, aged 76. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less