Rudy Lozano (foreground) at a Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA) meeting in 1975. ST-40001425-0011, Chicago Sun-Times collection, CHM

Rudy Lozano, born July 17, 1951, was a prominent Mexican American activist and community and labor organizer in Chicago from the late 1960s until his untimely death in 1983. Though he was born in Harlingen, Texas, Lozano’s formative years were spent in Chicago after his family moved to Pilsen in the early 1950s. He attended Carter Henry Harrison Technical High School (now Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy) in the late ’60s, where his activism began.

The following resources from the Chicago History Museum (CHM) and beyond will get you started on learning more about Lozano and his legacy in Chicago.

CHM Resources

• For a brief overview of the important community work Lozano did in Chicago before his life was cut short in 1983, read this post on CHM’s blog.
• Read in more detail about Lozano’s life, work, and tragic murder in this three-part online exhibition at Digital Chicago History.
• Listen to Episode 1: “The Missing Exhibition” of the Building Aquí podcast, which includes a segment that traces the life and legacy of Lozano, an inspiration to the students who set off a chain of events that led to the Aquí en Chicago project and exhibition.
• Listen to the “Interview with Journalist & Author Gary Rivlin” bonus episode of the Building Aquí podcast, which takes a deeper look into Lozano’s murder and Rivlin’s investigation. Listen on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
  • Read Rivlin’s 1985 article “Who Killed Rudy Lozano?” published in the Chicago Reader.

Mayor Harold Washington (seated front pew, second from right) attends the funeral service for Rudy Lozano at St. Pius V Catholic Church, 1919 South Ashland Avenue. ST-17102670-0032, Chicago Sun-Times collection, CHM

• The Chicago Sun-Times covered Lozano’s 1983 funeral and a 1975 meeting of Centro de Accion Social Autonomo (the Center for Autonomous Social Action) attended by Lozano. See photographs from these events at CHM Images.
• Visit the Abakanowicz Research Center (ARC) and read more in Rudy Lozano: His Life, His People. Note that the ARC is always free to visit.
• Until November 8, 2026, visit CHM’s Aquí en Chicago exhibition to see more on Rudy Lozano and his impact on local politics and labor organizing in the city.

Campaign poster for Emma Lozano Rico, Rudy’s sister, in the 1987 election for Alderman of the 32nd Ward. CHM, ICHi-189032

Additional Resources

University of Illinois Chicago

• Rudy Lozano papers, 1950–2003. This collection contains books, correspondence, clippings, photographs, programs, posters, reports, and video and audio recordings.
• Rudy Lozano Campaign collection, 1976–2003. The papers include reports, minutes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and flyers. These materials document Lozano’s work in the Mexican American and labor community, his run for Chicago Alderman, and his assassination.
• A Search for Unity: Rudy Lozano and Coalition Building in Chicago. This digital exhibition is based on A Search For Unity: Rudy Lozano and Coalition Building in Chicago, an exhibition in the Special Collections and University Archives at UIC’s Richard J. Daley Library from March 3 to December 16, 2022.

Chicago Public Library

• Visit the Lozano Branch of the Chicago Public Library, located in the Pilsen neighborhood.