Mexican American Civil Rights Institute

Last updated
Mexican American Civil Rights Institute
AbbreviationMACRI
FormationSeptember 2019
Headquarters2123 Buena Vista St, San Antonio, TX 78207
Executive Director
Sarah Zenaida Gould, PhD
National Advisory Council Chair
Cecilia Elizondo Herrera
Scholars Council Chair
Stephen Pitti, PhD
Website https://www.somosmacri.org/
Formerly called
National Institute of Mexican American History of Civil Rights

The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute (MACRI), located in San Antonio, Texas, is a national organization dedicated to documenting and recording Mexican American civil rights history.

Contents

History

Founded in 2019, [1] MACRI was first located in Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. [2] [3] They are currently in the process of opening a visitor’s center on the west side of San Antonio. There are also plans of eventually opening a museum and archive building in the coming years. [4] The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute is formerly known as the National Institute of Mexican American History of Civil Rights. MACRI was awarded $500,000 in startup money by the San Antonio City Council in September 2019. [3]

Visitors' center

The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute opened the doors to its visitors' center on October 14, 2023. Located on the West Side of San Antonio on the corner of Buena Vista Street and Navidad, the center resides inside of a 1930’s craftsman-style bungalow. Executive Director Sarah Zenaida Gould said the center will “give the public a taste of what an in-person experience could look like while we continue to put the pieces in place for a permanent museum and archive.” [4] The ribbon cutting ceremony included performances by Guadalupe Dance Company, Mariachi Azteca de America, and Bombasta. [2]

Exhibits

On the institute’s website, an online exhibit can be found by the name of “CHISPAS: Mexican American Civil Rights Trailblazers in San Antonio. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio</span> City in Texas, United States

San Antonio, officially the City of San Antonio, is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio, the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 2.6 million people in the 2020 US census. It is the most populous city in and the county seat of Bexar County. The city is the seventh-most populous in the United States, the second-largest in the Southern United States, and the second-most populous in Texas after Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bexar County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Bexar County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uvalde, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census, down from 15,751 in 2010. It is the principal city in the Uvalde, Texas Micropolitan Statistical Area. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, 80 miles (130 km) west of downtown San Antonio and 54 miles (87 km) east of the Mexico–United States border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tejanos</span> Texas descendants of Hispanic settlers

Tejanos are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Rio Grande Valley</span> Location in south Texas and Northeast Mexico

The Lower Rio Grande Valley, commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The region includes the southernmost tip of South Texas and a portion of northern Tamaulipas, Mexico. It consists of the Brownsville, Harlingen, Weslaco, Pharr, McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, San Juan, and Rio Grande City metropolitan areas in the United States and the Matamoros, Río Bravo, and Reynosa metropolitan areas in Mexico. The area is generally bilingual in English and Spanish, with a fair amount of Spanglish due to the region's diverse history and transborder agglomerations. It is home to some of the poorest cities in the nation, as well as many unincorporated, persistent poverty communities called colonias. A large seasonal influx occurs of "winter Texans" — people who come down from the north for the winter and then return north before summer arrives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HemisFair '68</span> Worlds Fair held in San Antonio, Texas

HemisFair '68 was the official 1968 World's Fair held in San Antonio, Texas, from April 6 through October 6, 1968. Local businessman and civic leader, Jerome K. Harris Sr., coined the name HemisFair and conceived the idea for the fair, hoping it would unite all the cultures that comprise San Antonio and solidify the city's reputation as a cultural and historic destination. With help from commissioner Henry B. Gonzales and other San Antonio leaders, the fair materialized and helped transform the city from a cowtown to one of the largest cities in the country. The theme of the fair was "The Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas", celebrating the many nations which settled the region. The fair was held in 1968 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio in 1718. More than thirty nations and fifteen corporations hosted pavilions at the fair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felix Z. Longoria Jr.</span> United States Army soldier (1920–1945)

Felix Z. Longoria was an American soldier from Texas, who served in the United States Army as a private. He died during World War II and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery after veterans supported his cause in a dispute over his funerary arrangements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Tenayuca</span> Mexican American labor leader

Emma Beatrice Tenayuca was an American labor leader, union organizer, civil rights activist, and educator. She is best known for her work organizing Mexican workers in Texas during the 1930s, particularly for leading the 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike. She was also known for her involvement with the U.S. Communist Party to advocate for Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of the Incarnate Word</span> Catholic university in San Antonio, Texas, US

The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located on 154 acres (0.6 km2). It is the largest Catholic university in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of the Lake University</span> Private university in San Antonio, Texas

Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), known locally as the Lake, is a private Catholic university in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of Divine Providence, a religious institute originating in Lorraine, France, during the 18th century. The Texas chapter of the institute still sponsors the university. Our Lady of the Lake University was the first San Antonio institution of higher education to receive regional accreditation and its Worden School of Social Service is the oldest Social Work school in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of San Antonio</span>

The culture of San Antonio reflects the history and culture of one of the state's oldest and largest cities straddling the regional and cultural divide between South and Central Texas. Historically, San Antonio culture comes from a blend of Central Texas and South Texas (Southwestern) culture. Founded as a Spanish outpost and the first civil settlement in Texas, San Antonio is heavily influenced by Mexican American culture due to Texas formerly being part of Mexico and, previously, the Spanish Empire. The city also has significant German, Anglo, and African American cultural influences. San Antonio offers a host of cultural institutions, events, restaurants and nightlife in South Texas for both residents and visitors alike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum</span> Holocaust / human rights museum in Dallas, TX

The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is a history education museum in Dallas, Texas, in the West End Historic District at the southeast corner of N. Houston Street and Ross Avenue. Its mission is to teach the history of the Holocaust and advance human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference. It features climate-controlled archives and a research library to expand education.

The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project(SVREP), founded in 1974, is the oldest and largest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the United States. SVREP was founded by William C. Velasquez Jr. SVREP has registered 2.6 million Latino voters, trained 150,000 leaders and encouraged thousands of individuals to volunteer in their communities. Their slogan is “Su Voto es Su Voz.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of San Antonio</span> Aspect of Texas history

The City of San Antonio is one of the oldest Spanish settlements in Texas and was, for decades, its largest city. Before Spanish colonization, the site was occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic Payaya Indians were likely those who encountered the first Europeans.

In 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed to the United States of America, becoming the 28th U.S. state. Border disputes between the new state and Mexico, which had never recognized Texas independence and still considered the area a renegade Mexican state, led to the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). When the war concluded, Mexico relinquished its claim on Texas, as well as other regions in what is now the southwestern United States. Texas' annexation as a state that tolerated slavery had caused tension in the United States among slave states and those that did not allow slavery. The tension was partially defused with the Compromise of 1850, in which Texas ceded some of its territory to the federal government to become non-slave-owning areas but gained El Paso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alazán-Apache Courts</span> Public housing in San Antonio, Texas, United States

Alazán-Apache Courts is a public housing community in San Antonio. The neighborhood is located on the city's West Side, and was built in 1939. It was the first public housing built in the city and is currently made up of three different properties: Alazán, Apache and Guadalupe Homes. It is also one of the first public housing projects in the United States and originally served a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood.

The African American population in San Antonio, Texas has been a significant part of the city's community since its founding. African Americans have been a part of the Greater San Antonio's history since the late 1800s. San Antonio ranks as the top Texas destination city for Black professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alonso S. Perales</span> American lawyer and civil rights activist

Alonso S. Perales was an American lawyer, diplomat, and civil rights activist based in Texas. He was a founder of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and served as the second president, helping write its constitution. Perales also served as a diplomat in the Eisenhower administration.

Jesus Treviño, better known as Jesse Treviño, was a Mexican-born American visual artist. He essentially became a Chicano artist after he was wounded in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, which required him to learn how to paint with his left hand. Based in San Antonio, Texas, his paintings and murals largely depict the Mexican American/Chicano community of San Antonio, including cinemas and neighborhood shops, as well as people. He is best known for his photorealist paintings from the late 1970s and early 1980s, and for his large-scale mosaic murals made out of ceramic tiles, which he produced later in his career.

References

  1. Martinez, Norma; Navarro, Marian (2024-05-10). "Fronteras: 'We need to know who we are'— MACRI enters 5th year in highlighting Mexican American civil rights". Texas Public Radio. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  2. 1 2 Lynch, David (2023-10-17). "As MACRI opens west-side visitor center, it prepares for bigger goal: a national museum of Mexican American civil rights". KENS5. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  3. 1 2 Salazar, John (2019-09-17). "Mexican-American Civil Rights Institute Preserves History". Spectrum Local News. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Ayala, Elaine (2023-02-27). "Ayala: Mexican American Civil Rights Institute getting 'starter home' on city's West side". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  5. "HOME | Mexican American Civil Rights Institute (MACRI)". MACRI. Retrieved September 19, 2023.

Further reading