Chavez, Dennis

Chavez, Dennis (1888–1962) U.S. representative/senator; born in Los Chavez, N.M. Although he never finished high school, he worked as a clerk in the U.S. Senate and graduated from Georgetown University Law School (1920). He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (Dem., N.M.; 1931–35) and in the U.S. Senate (1935–62). An advocate of integrating minorities, he opposed Navajo Indian autonomy and proposed making English the language of Puerto Rico. He worked tirelessly to create the Fair Employment Practices Commission. New Mexico placed his statue in the U.S. Capitol.