BIBLIOGRAPHY: Publications on the Chicano/Mexicano Communities of Dallas & North Texas

A few people have reached out to me asking about titles discussing the Mexican American community in Dallas. The list below is a current list of publications that I'm aware of, I will update it periodically, so feel free to offer suggestions of items I missed. As you can see, a good number of them …

Radicals & Reformers in Big D

This article on Mexican American politics in Dallas, Texas during the Chicano movement was originally published in the Journal of South Texas in the Spring 2021 issue. It’s posted here with permission from the editor. Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Thank you for reading. ---- “In 1966, fed up with their miserable working conditions, South Texas farm workers organized a strike, marched, and boycotted with help from the Texas chapter of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). This event is known as the Starr County Strike and is named after the border county that sits right on the Rio Grande. The strike was organized by melon-pickers who received help from the California UFW and activists from other parts of Texas, including Dallas. In the greater history of the farmworker struggle, this event stands out as a significant example of the brutality and repression faced by those who dared to demand justice in the fields. The role that the Texas Rangers played in suppressing the strike and violently targeting union activists galvanized the greater ethnic Mexican community. At the time, Starr County was one of the poorest counties in Texas…”

New article

Pialli! Dear Followers, I have not been active on here for a while. I've been busy teaching, researching, writing, and dealing with the pandemic as we all have. I just wanted to direct you to an article of mine that was recently published on the website - Mexicolore. The website is run by an organization …

Paul Hernandez: Presente!

The Mexican American community has lost another great one. Paul Hernandez—Austin Brown Beret and long-time Chicano activist—passed away September 24, 2020 at the age of 74. My condolences to the family. Paul Hernandez was a founding member of the Brown Berets in Austin as well as El Concilio – a coalition of Mexican American neighborhood …

Q&A with John Trudell (2001)

It's been 4 years since the imitable writer, artist, activist John Trudell (Santee Dakota) left us on Dec 8, 2015. Recently, I've been digging through my old files in an attempt to make space and de-clutter my office. In the process, I'm finding lots of good stuff going back almost 2 decades, including a copy …

What Are We Thankful For?

Note: I was going through some old files today, and I found this old commentary I did back in 2003. It was for the Mexika Eagle Society journal that I used to contribute to called, In Kuauhtlahtoa: Journal of Native Resistance. This journal ran from 2001-2005; we stopped the project due to a lack of …

Thanksgiving: A National Day of Mourning for Indians

Thanksgiving: A National Day of Mourning for Indians by Moonanum James and Mahtowin Munro, 1998. Every year since 1970, United American Indians of New England have organized the National Day of Mourning observance in Plymouth at noon on Thanksgiving Day. Every year, hundreds of Native people and our supporters from all four directions join us. …

50 Years On: Who Remembers the National Chicano Liberation Youth Conference?

50 YEARS ON: WHO REMEMBERS THE NATIONAL CHICANO LIBERATION YOUTH CONFERENCE? Today, June 28, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that occurred at the Stonewall Inn bar in New York City in 1969. On that day, police arrived at the bar to conduct what they thought would be routine business – the harassment …

Twitter discussion about the term Anahuatlahtolli

The discussion that follows is one that I recently had with a couple of fellow Nawatl/Mexikayotl scholars on Twitter, and I think it's worth posting here for posterity. I plan to write a short piece on the matter soon. Look for it on mexika.org. 5/30-31/2019 @tlakatekatl Tlakatekatl Taking informal Nawatl lessons from a native speaker …

Some Thoughts on the First Ever “Mexican American Civil Rights Tour”

Dallas, Texas These are just some preliminary thoughts on the Mexican American Civil Rights Tour of Texas that my fellow SMU history graduate, Carla Mendiola—in partnership with the Wesley-Rankin Community Center (West Dallas), is undertaking right now along with local Dallas area high school students.  (Link to the story by Stella Chavez from KERA news.) …