Category: History

Did you know that before Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez there was another Latina fighting for the rights of workers?

Her name is Emma Tenayuca and history is just now starting to give her the credit she deserves. The San Antonio, Texas native grew up watching her family and neighbors struggle for basic necessities during the Great Depression, and she became an advocate for labor rights by the time she was a teenager.

At just 21 years-old, she led the 1938 Texas Pecan Shellers’ Strike, which was largely composed of Mexican Americans who kept seeing their pay cut down despite having to work in unsafe conditions. Tenayuca single-mindedly convinced 12,000 workers the fight was worth putting their jobs on the line.

The workers unionized under the International Pecan Shellers Union and garnered support from 8,000 more workers, bringing the industry to a screeching halt. Despite retaliation from pecan producers that included police gassing and arrests of strikers, they agreed to arbitration 37 days after the strike began and gave the workers increased pay weeks later.

Tenayuca is a true ‘sheroe’ in history so make sure we teach our kids about her influence.

You know a cowboy when you see one: cowboy hats and boots, flannel shirts, leather belts. Some were outlaws, while others were good ‘ole boys who preferred the barn.  The stereotypical cowboy loves country western music, horses, beer, trucks, and cowboy boots.

A few iconic American cowboys who come to mind are Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Tom Ketchum, Walker the Texas Ranger, Josey Wales, John Wayne and our favorite, the Dallas Cowboys. Mainstream tends to portray them as white men who rode a horse and saved the day.

Little did you know, the original cowboys were not white. They were, in fact, Mexican and they were called Vaqueros. In the late 1800s, Vaqueros were responsible for herding cattle and training horses. They were also masters of lassoing.

Mexican vaqueros were the original cowboys. They revolutionized cow-herding, training horses, and maintaining stables. They never set out to be icons. However, their robust skills, western style, and hard work started an iconic movement. Today, Mexican cowboys like Gerardo ‘Jerry’ Diaz and many others are honored at the Cowboy Hall of Fame for their extraordinary work.

The Mexican vaqueros will always be the original cowboy!

Why has Hispanic history been separated from American history in textbooks?

It’s no wonder we get frustrated that others don’t seem to grasp our key role in history.

 

 

 

 

 

In the 1830s, Mejicanos were concerned about Americans migrating to their country, causing a massive migration into Texas. This small segment of history clashes with the Anglo narrative that dominates history books.

https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/what-we-dont-know-about-our-hispanic-past/

America’s dark past of lynching Black people extended to Latinos who acted “too Mexican” by speaking Spanish, taking away jobs from Whites and refusing to leave land that Whites wanted. These lynchings took place across the Southwest and historians says it’s a mistake America prefers to keep hidden.

http://kalamu.com/neogriot/2014/09/15/history-the-unknown-history-of-latino-lynchings/  

American history wouldn’t be what it is today without our gente, so let’s do our best to preserve it.

When it comes to fighting worthy causes, Latinas in the U.S. often get inspiration from women in Latin America.  Today we’ll highlight three of them.

First is Puerto Rican Pure Belpré who worked for 45 years at New York City Public Library to diversify the audience the library reached. As the first Latina librarian there, she expanded programming and diversified literature.
https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/latina-women-learned-history-class/

Next is Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú Tum, who grew up in Quiché culture, a Native branch of Mayan culture in Guatemala. She defended her land, fought for women and indigenous rights and formed WINAQ, the first indigenous-led party.

Then there’s Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores, a Honduran environmental activist, indigenous leader, and co-founder and coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. David Castillo Mejía, the executive president of the company building a dam which Cáceres campaigned against, was arrested in 2018 for her murder.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/02/berta-caceres-death-murder-ex-honduran-military-intelligence-officer-arrested  

We are thankful to these incredible Latinas for fighting against injustices and making our world a better place for all.

The Beginning: 13 days into 2001, a massive earthquake hit El Salvador. This earthquake was no joke. At least 944 people were killed, more than 5,000 were injured, and tens of thousands of homes destroyed. To help, the U.S. gave 200,000 Salvadorans Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to live, work (and play) legally in the U.S. Aren’t we just so nice?

The Turning Point: No fear of la migra for these folks! Until Nov. 2016, of course, when the U.S. elected their very own version of a Latin American populist. Since then, Trump has been notably deplorable to our community, most recently by ending protections for 800,000 young undocumented immigrants, unless Congress grants these DREAMers a path to legal status by March 5.

But also…The Department of Homeland Security said that because El Salvador had been reconstructed since the earthquakes, it was time for more than 200,000 Guanacos to get lost by September 2019.

The Aftermath: The country may be better now, but El Salvador ain’t exactly paradise. Drought, poverty and la mara sill ravage the country. Imagine, if on top of that, 200,000 people, many who have been here for most of their lives, were to just roll up like, “Howya doin’?”

To understand this struggle first-hand, meet the Salinas family, TPS-holders in danger of being deported.