Papers of Ricardo Cruz, former Chicano rights attorney active in Los Angeles, California during the Chicano Movement era, and a founding member of Católicos por La Raza.

Richard (Ricardo) Vincent Cruz (July 1, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was a Chicano rights attorney during the Chicano Movement era. He is most well-known for his advocacy on behalf of the Latino poor people of the Los Angeles area. Cruz was a law school student at the time he founded the controversial organization known as Catolicos por la Raza. Through this organization, he led demonstrations against the Catholic Church for its neglect of the Latino community. He is also know for his successful legal battle against Los Angeles County's forced sterilization of undocumented workers, and for his successful defense of a young Latino wrongly convicted of murder.

47.5 Linear Feet; (32 cartons, 8 doc boxes, 10 half-doc boxes, 1 flat box, and 2 film reels)

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