Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Peña sought to improve the treatment of Mexican-Americans in his local community.
[2] Peña Jr. joined the Navy soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor and began as a radioman during World War II.
[2] Peña was at first hesitant to join the Navy due to his commitment to his then pregnant girlfriend Joséfina "Josie" Herrera, whom he married quietly before he was shipped out to San Diego.
[3] While at first hesitant to return to his home town and become involved in political affairs, Peña's wife Olga strongly encouraged him to help his community.
[3] In 1951, Hector P. Garcia, the leader and founder of the A.G.I.F., asked Peña to evaluate the conditions of Hondo Independent School District to determine if their policies were discriminatory.
Peña discovered that the district had essentially separated the Anglos and Méxicanos in different schools based on the children's ability to read English.
While the district denied separating students on the basis of ethnicity, Peña appealed the case to the Texas Board of Education.
[3] His strategy was for Méxicano parents to attempt to register their children in the Anglo school repeatedly until the effort attracted press attention, specifically the San Antonio paper.
[3] After gaining recognition from the Hondo integration case, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) asked Peña to investigate a similar situation in Lytle, Texas.
Peña again spoke to the Lytle School Board and used the superintendent as his star witness, who had previously admitted to the segregation between the Anglo and Chicano students.
[3] Peña sought public office but often experienced defeat, even when running alongside white liberal candidates.
[2] In December 1957 Peña was elected to the board of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch and in the following spring he became the chair.
"Sporty" Harvey was an up-and-coming African American boxer referred to Albert Peña Jr. by local black leaders after having been denied a mixed match by the state labor commissioner.
[2] Peña brought the case to court and argued that Harvey's rights were being violated because he was not allowed to fight against a white opponent due to his race.