Elba Montes
A lifelong advocate for the Latino/a community in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.
Early Life
Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico on August 5, 1940, Montes immigrated to San Francisco, CA alongside her family at the age of nine in 1949.
She began her advocacy at an early age, having picked up English quickly and serving as a volunteer translator for the Latino/a community in the Mission District.
At the age of 16, Montes dropped out of school and married her first husband in order to provide financial stability to her family, which would inspire her later involvement and contributions to the community's schools.
"I was just doing things. I learned English fast and I was asked to interpret to help get people into schools, on welfare, out of jail. I've always been available."
Activism in the 1960s-1970s
Contributions to Coalitions
Montes became an active member of the Mission Council on Redevelopment (MCOR) and the Mission Area Community Action Program (MACAP), both of which were aimed at informing the Latino/a community about redevelopment plans and improving the living conditions of San Francisco's Mission District.
Projects included improving rental housing, installing traffic signs at heavy intersections, and increasing the number of bilingual teachers at local schools.
In 1968, Montes helped to create the Mission Coalition Organization (MCO), of which she eventually became the executive Vice President of. The coalition was developed in response to the Model Cities Program under President Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty plans in order to ensure that residents of the Mission District had ultimate control over redevelopment or urban renewal plans in their own community.
Women's Rights
"A meaningful education is every person's right."
Montes ultimately left the MCO in 1970 due to the resistance of male leaders against women potentially leading the organization
Shortly after, in 1972, she became the first woman of Latin American ancestry to run for public office in San Francisco. Endorsed by various members and organizations — the Yerba Buena Democratic Club, San Francisco Minority Coalition, Transport Workers Union Local 250A, Painters Union Local 4, and the President and Vice President of the San Francisco Board of Education — Montes ran a successful grassroots campaign for a seat on the newly founded Community College Governing Board.
In 1973, Montes created the Puerto Rican Women's Organization (PRWO) in San Francisco in response to low numbers of Hispanics in feminist movements and organizations.
"One of the things that we were looking at was how to be in leadership being a woman, a Latino woman."
The organization was aimed at increasing access to opportunities for Puerto Rican women and other Latinas by informing them of various topics including employment and education.
As a member of California's IWY Nominating Committee, Montes became one of 14 from San Francisco to represent as a California delegate at the 1977 National Women's Conference.
In the same year, Montes offered her services to women law offenders as a Program Development Specialist for San Francisco's Women's Bureau as part of the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.