John J. Herrera was born on April 12, 1910 in Cravens, Louisiana, where his father was sheriff. He Graduated from Sam Houston High School in Houston, and went on to South Texas Law School in 1940, and passed the bar in 1943. Herrera would continue to practice law in Houston from 1943 to 1986 and was a leading civil rights advocate for Mexican Americans in Texas. Some notable cases that he was involved with were Delgado v. Bastrop ISD (1948), which led Texas courts rule that separate schools for Mexican American children were illegal, and Hernandez v. Texas (1954), which resulted in a United States Supreme Court ruling that declared that the systematic exclusion of Spanish-speaking citizens from service on juries was unconstitutional.

Herrera was also a prominent figure in the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), in which he joined in 1933, and served as national president from 1952-1953. He was also appointed national LULAC legal advisor from the 1960s to 1977. As a lifelong Democrat, Herrera unsuccessfully ran unsuccessfully for the Texas Legislature in the 1950s. In the 1960s he was an active supporter of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and relates that one of the most memorable nights of his life was November 21, 1963, where he introduced President Kennedy to a group of LULAC members gathered at the Rice Hotel for a reception the night before said president was assassinated.

John J. Herrera died in Houston on October 12, 1986, due to a stroke.

The materials in this collection document John J. Herrera's civic, legal, and political activities through correspondence, speeches, and other records. The largest portion of the collection concerns his involvement with LULAC. The collection emphasizes his civic, business, and political activities with very little information on family and personal matters. Items in this collection are generally from the 1940s through the 1970s, with a large portion being dedicated to his work directly and indirectly with LULAC. A portion of the papers in this collection feature Herrera’s work as legal counsel for LULAC, with a heavy emphasis of material in 1977 and impeachment proceedings against LULAC officers.

The finding aid for this collection can be viewed here: https://txarchives.org/houpub/finding_aids/00009.xml