Juan Soria, Key Figure in School Desegregation Battle, Dies at Age 65

OXNARD — Latino activist Juan Soria, a prominent figure in the fight to desegregate Oxnard schools, died Friday after a heart attack. He was 65.

A lifelong resident of Oxnard, Soria gained prominence in 1970 when he and other parents sued the school district over its policy of segregation. The next year, a federal judge in Los Angeles found the district had created unequal educational opportunities for Latino students of the La Colonia area.

The result, after an unsuccessful appeal by the district, was forced busing.

“He was always an activist and someone highly regarded in the community,” said Oxnard Elementary School District Trustee Arthur Lopez. “He was always seeking out justice and always looking out for the little man.”

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Doreen and Debbie Soria, the daughters of Juan’s brother, Roberto, who lived in the La Colonia area. Their cause was part of a larger movement toward equal rights for minority students.

“The issue was on everybody’s minds, not just in Oxnard, but across the nation. And he was trying to right the wrongs as he saw them,” Lopez said.

Soria was born March 28, 1932. He played football in high school and graduated in 1950. At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, Soria “was the biggest home-grown, strawberry- and lemon-fed boy to come out of Oxnard High School,” said his daughter, Leticia Soria of Grover Beach.

His height and strength earned him a full scholarship to Midwestern College in Texas, where he played sports and studied geology. He later earned a master’s degree in business administration.

Soria was not one to compromise, said his daughter. He loathed those who made money at the expense of others, and cared even less for those who compromised their principles for a money.

“My father didn’t realize all of his dreams because of his fear of selling out,” Leticia Soria said.

To understand how difficult the struggle for equality was, one must realize how entrenched Oxnard was in inequality, said retired Oxnard High School teacher Gil Cuevas.

“There had been a long history of discrimination in Oxnard, especially by the school system. I had heard story after story from the citizens that were born here about how bad they were treated in the early grades,” Cuevas said.

Cuevas tried to move the board to clean up the schools in the La Colonia area, but was rebuffed. “They were so convinced that no repercussions were going to occur if they didn’t fix up that part of the city,” Cuevas said.

The repercussion was a federal lawsuit.

“He [Soria] knew it was time for action. He spoke about the need to bring about a class-action suit to end the policies. I was later surprised to find out that he did bring the suit,” Cuevas said.

The work of Juan Soria has not been lost on his children, said his eldest son, Juan Carlos Soria, 41, of Oxnard.

“He taught me that everyone is as good as anyone else,” he said. “That with effort anyone can become anything. That you take the bull by the horns and that you ride it out for all it’s worth.”

Soria is also survived by daughters Adriana Soria-Snell of Ridgecrest, Calif.; Lilia, Catalina and Isabel Soria, all of Oxnard; sons Armando Soria and David Frazier, both of Oxnard; five grandchildren; and brothers Catarino “Manny” Soria and Enrique “Henry” Soria, both of Oxnard, and Roberto Soria of Reseda.

Arrangements are under the direction of Garcia Mortuary, Oxnard. Services will be announced.