Born of migrant farm worker parents, Eddie spent his early years in a rural, migrant border town outside of Texas, while his father worked in steel mills in Gary, Indiana, and East Chicago. They were poor: he did not have the luxury of inside bathroom facilities until 6th grade. Early jobs included farm work, shoe shining, barber/beauty shop sweeping, and the neighborhood youth corps, followed by factory work, cafeteria cleanup, and bottling plant/warehouse work. After junior college, Eddie attended the University of Houston, where he became involved with MAYO and La Raza Unida Party, beginning a long history of political activism and organizing. He has served the social and economic justice movements in many capacities and with several organizations, including the Congreso de Aztlan (the National Committee of La Raza Unida), the Texas Farmworkers, the Longshoremen, SEIU’s School District Campaign of custodians and cafeteria workers, and Centro Aztlan in Houston, where he was a Director for ten years. Eduardo has been an organizer in Colorado, New Mexico, Eastern Washington, Montana, Idaho, Texas, and Wyoming; he has agitated, organized, negotiated, and provided direct services around issues ranging from economic and labor justice to anti-police brutality. Eduardo Canales recently founded the South Texas Human Rights Center in Falfurrias, Texas, whose mission is to end death and suffering among migrant border crossers through community initiatives and strengthen the capacity of families to locate missing loved ones, and increase public awareness of migrant deaths and the impact of militarization of the Southwest border.
