History Commons^™

The Shaping Of Ethnic Mexican Identity In The Segregated Schools Of Presidio, County, Texas, 1867-1947, Aurelio Saldana

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The work conducts a sociological analysis of the historical record documenting segregated school settings in a rural area from 1867 to 1947 using socialization theory. The sociological theory of schemas will provide a lens from the Americanization process students in the U.S., specifically ethnic Mexican students, underwent to shape "American" identity. The analysis ventures into the intersectionality created by the social constructs of gender, sex, race, and class and how these factors combined as part of the Americanized socialization of ethnic Mexican students. Gender inequality, or patriarchy, was a leading factor in shaping the contested U.S.-Mexico borderlands and U.S. society. …

Como Lobos, David Andrew Place

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In a world of conflict, Storm Crow, a Comanche warrior, leads a war party making its way through Mexico and Texas, stealing horses, abducting children, and wreaking chaos as he seeks spiritual and magical power, increasing his notoriety and prowess as a warrior. During one raid, Storm Crow abducts a white child, six-year-old Wade Vance. When Wade tries to escape, Storm Crow attempts to shoot him. When Storm Crow's gun fails twice, he realizes that the boy is not meant to die and adopts him, renaming Wade, "Broken Gun," in praise of the perceived magical intervention, the gun misfiring twice, …

Mi Feria Es Su Feria: How Mexican Americans Created The 1968 San Antonio Hemisfair, Gene Thomas Morales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In 1968, HemisFair became the first world's fair to be held in San Antonio, the United States Southwest, and to be recognized by the Bureau of International Expositions. Countries from around the globe were brought together by a shared commitment to democratic unity, Pan-American friendship, and to celebrate San Antonio's 250th anniversary. San Antonio Fair Inc., the group in charge of the fairâ??s construction and production, worked closely with community leaders, the Texas state government, and the U.S. federal government to create the exposition. The fair's theme would be called Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas. Confluence for the fair …

Skirting The Law: Women In Vice During U.S. Prohibition In South Texas, 1900-1933, Carolina Monsivais

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation explores both women's participation in the vice industry north of the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas and the ways in which women were policed. The Dissertation analyzes the interactions that occurred between law enforcement agents and the women they arrested, primarily ethnic Mexican women. This analysis illuminates law enforcement tactics that were honed during this era through the interactions that agents had with women who worked in vice industries. I also argue that women in this industry demonstrated knowledge, agency, and resistance. In addition, it created avenues of work for women, particularly in South Texas. However, studies examining …

Racial Injustice In Houston, Texas: The Mexican American Mobilization Against The Police Killing Of Joe Campos Torres, Melanie Rodriguez Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the Houston Police Departmentâ??s (the HPD) relations with the ethnic-Mexican community across four decades to consider how the police killing of Joe Campos Torres sparked a wave of protest that ensured that cityâ??s long history of police brutality against ethnic Mexicans and other minorities (especially African Americans) came to the forefront in Texas, if not the nation in general. The HPD was a mechanisms of the cityâ??s status quo that reinforced the racial dominance of white Houstonians. From 1940 to 1970, the HPD found it necessary to implement effective police models to control wayward minorities and uphold …

Strange Rumblings In El Chuco: Ruben Salazar Writes For The Prospector, 1947-48 & 1953-54, Gustavo Del Hierro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The life of journalist Rubén Salazar is often linked to his time as a reporter/columnist for the Los Angeles Times during the Chicana/o Movement and his death at the Chicano Anti-War Moratorium in East Los Angeles on August 29, 1970. After his death, he became a martyr of the Chicana/o civil rights movement and his life and work have mostly been obscured by different attempts to personify him, overlooking aspects of his earlier life. Salazar was born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in 1928 and his family later moved to El Paso, Texas in 1929, where he was raised and educated. …

Birth Control On The Border: Race, Gender, Religion, And Class In The Making Of The Birth Control Movement, El Paso, Texas. 1936-1973, Lina Maria Murillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the history of the birth control movement on the U.S-Mexico border from 1936 until 1973. Historians have focused on various aspects of the history of reproductive control and rights nationally, but none have analyzed the borderlands region in this regard. In order to address this absence in the historical literature, this study seeks to highlight the role of organizations, activists, and patients, specifically within the ethnic Mexican community as they defined reproductive control and rights along the Texas border. El Paso, Texas served as a major port of entry for Mexicans and other groups at the turn …

"What, To A Prisoner, Is The Fourth Of July?": Mumia Abu-Jamal And Contemporary Narratives Of Slavery, Luis Omar Ceniceros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Writing from a specifically Black postmodern perspective, former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal composes his multimedia slave narrative as a postmodern Neo-slave narrative. From the Atlantic slave-trade to the United States prison-industrial complex, from Quobna Ottobah Cugoano to Mumia Abu-Jamal, the slave narrative exists as a critique against oppressive State powers and a collective affirmation of interiority and embodied significance. For Abu-Jamal, his incarceration is indicative of an ever-pervasive capitalist power-structure that in the past has, in the present is, and in the future will control designated groups of made marginalized masses in order that preeminent capitalist beneficiaries preserve elite …

Reinventing The Old West: Concordia Cemetery And The Power Over Space, 1800-1895, Nancy Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Utilizing Concordia Cemetery as a framework, this study analyzes the social and economic development of El Paso County and the surrounding areas after the U.S.-Mexico War (1846-48). The cemetery was a vast commercialized zone before it was a burial ground, and silenced histories, voices, and people that lived and thrived on this land are incorporated into this work. The role of the original owners, Hugh Stephenson and Juana Maria Ascarate, as well as the Mexican networks, intermarriage and Mexican American women, and the presence of ethnic Mexicans are subjects that are also examined. In addition, this Dissertation interrogates the pioneer …

Illicit Inhabitants: Empire, Immigration, Race, And Sexuality On The U.S.-Mexico Border, 1891-1924, Irma Victoria Montelongo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

On any given day and at any given location, the residents of El Paso, Texas see Border Patrol agents, city police, sheriff's deputies, DEA agents, and FBI agents, ICE agents, DPS officers, and U.S. Marshalls, as well as a full display of military personnel. To understand how this location functions vis-Ã -vis the residents and law enforcement and social control we must think of the U.S.-Mexico border as a line of ingression heavily guarded from those considered dangerous, defective, and diseased. Immigrant bodies, seen as inferior and disposable, are often subjected to insidious levels of racist, classist, and sexist rhetoric …

Textbooks, Teachers, And Compromise: The Political Work Of Freedmen Education, Ashley Marie Swarthout

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

After the end of the Civil War, Northerners flooded into the South in order to participate in the education of freedmen. While many, perhaps most, of the individuals who worked in freedmen education had the best interests of the freedmen in mind, freedmen education in of itself was inherently political; therefore, all contributors to freedmen education were also sponsors of Southern Reconstruction politics. It is my argument that the aid organizations (particularly the American Missionary Association and the American Freedmen's Union Commission), the writers and printers of freedmen-specific textbooks (the American Tract Society and Lydia Maria Child), and the teachers …

Mexican Immigrants´ Foodways In El Paso, Texas, 1880-1960s: Identity, Nationalism, And Community, Juan Manuel Mendoza Guerrero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Although food for Mexican immigrants in El Paso has been through history, with their differences in time, a very important element of their culture, while site that has influenced identity, sense of nation and community, academic studies for this geographic area and for this specific group, are almost nil. This dissertation aims to contribute something to fill this gap. Here, it discusses the historical changes and continuities of Mexican food from 1880 to 1960s, during which time retention, cultural assimilation, and inventive were part of the many processes experienced for Mexican immigrants in their relation with food. The most important …

Border Physician: The Life Of Lawrence A. Nixon, 1883-1966, Will Guzmán

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation centers on the life of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon, an African American physician and civil rights activist who lived in El Paso, Texas from 1910 until his death in 1966. Born in Marshall, Texas in 1883, Lawrence Nixon graduated from Wiley College in 1902 and Meharry Medical College in 1906. He then established a medical office in Cameron, Texas in 1907, but due to the racial climate and violence of central Texas he moved west to El Paso in hopes of a better life.

Although several historians have mentioned Dr. Nixon in their works, they have tended to …

The Literary Fictioning Of John Gregory Bourke's Imperial Nostalgia, Toni K. Mcnair

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nineteenth-century Army Captain and American ethnographer John Gregory Bourke (b. 1846 - d. 1896) meticulously described and documented a vast amount of information on military life, geography, ecology, and people on both sides of the Mexican-American border, offering observations and opinions of American, Mexican, Mexican-American, Apache, Pueblo, Zuni and Plains Indian cultures. Because of his ethnographic studies of Mexican-Americans along the Rio Grande, cultural studies scholars, José E. Limón and José David Saldí­var have identified John Gregory Bourke as complicit in the U.S. government's imperialist project. Referring to Renato Rosaldo's anthropological theory of imperialist nostalgia, These authors declare Bourke's work …

A History Of El Paso's Company E In World War Ii, Jorge Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For the most part, Hispanics in the U.S. military were not segregated into separate units, but there was, at least, one known exception. It is this particular story of a National Guard unit from El Paso, Texas designated as Company E that has received minimal attention by historians. This unit was unlike any other unit of the National Guard in that it consisted only of Mexican-Americans.

Making Africans And Indians: Colonialism, Identity, Racialization, And The Rise Of The Nation-State In The Florida Borderlands, 1765-1837, John Paul A. Nuño

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Florida Borderlands from 1765 to 1837 was a fluid space in which established colonial and Indigenous social, political, and economic systems were in dialogue with emerging discourses associated with the market economy, nationalism, and race. Utilizing British, Spanish, and United States government documents, diplomatic correspondence, and slave claims, this work traces the racialization of diverse Indigenous and African populations. Older colonial powers and nascent nation states sought to create political and social space between individuals within these categories in an effort to better control their labor, movement, and economic status. Consequently, Seminoles and Africans resisted and adapted, depending on …

Interview No. 1624, J. Halbert Gambrell

Combined Interviews

In this interview, J. Halbert (“Hal”) Gambrell shares his memories of his colorful family, early El Paso, and his military experiences during both World War II and the Korean War. Born in El Paso in 1920, Gambrell entered this world in the family home due to his physician father’s decision to avoid local hospitals overflowing with Spanish Influenza patients. His father had recently returned from service in France during World War I; earlier he had served under General Jack “Black” Pershing during the latter’s 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico in Pershing’s ill-fated attempt to capture Pancho Villa. Gambrell continues to …

Interview No. 1626, Judith Leonard

Combined Interviews

She goes over the various doctors that worked in El Paso; she recalls the various hospitals at the time, the building of Providence Hospital; mentions that there were few Hispanic doctors, and reveals that the medical society was closed to them except for a few from medical families; she remembers Dr. Kalikian that trained her husband; she explains why her husband’s group eventually moved their office to Murchison St, closer to Sierra Medical Center. Ms. Leonard recounts travelling for her husband’s work, describes the career and interests of her children; she goes over her family’s love of opera and talks …

Interview No. 1644, Harry Flournoy

Combined Interviews

He was recruited by Coach Don Haskins from Indiana; his mother felt Coach Haskins would be a good mentor; he received good treatment from everyone in El Paso; he describes Coach Haskins practices as tough but stated that Haskins warned them in advance. Mr. Flournoy felt that at the time that the 1965-66 team was good and an improvement from the last year, but did not know whether they would make it to the NCAA Championship. He describes the poor treatment and racism he and other black players experienced from some of the crowds, as well as at restaurants and …

Interview No. 1642, Louis Baudoin

Combined Interviews

He believes that his father being stationed in Oklahoma for a time during World War II where Coach Don Haskins is from helped convince his parents to accept his decision to go to Texas Western College; he describes how it was close to his family, had just created a Liberal Arts department and had a strong engineering program. Describes Don Haskins’ approach to basketball as simple, stressing proficiency in basic drills rather than relying on complicated plays; he describes practices as brutal and repetitive but that the team’s success on the court proved Don Haskins right. Mr. Baudoin believed at …

Interview No. 1646, Tyrone Bobby Joe Hill

Combined Interviews

He was originally from Michigan but was playing at a junior college in Iowa where Don Haskins saw him play and recruited him; he was not familiar with the city or school, he was surprised by the size and warm weather; he mentions that Jim Barnes and Nolan Richardson showed him around town and people were friendly. He describes his initial impression of Don Haskins was that he was nice, but at practice found out that he was very disciplinarian; he mentions that he thought the 1965-66 team was good, but they had a quiet confidence; he addresses the story …

Interview No. 1648, David Lattin

Combined Interviews

David Lattin describes his recruitment into the Texas Western College basketball team. He began as a student at Tennessee State but was unhappy there and then later transferred to Texas Western College. Mr. Lattin describes positive experiences with his new team and coach, Don Haskins. He also describes hardships and fears he encountered in the team; since he played alongside others who were taller than him, Lattin feared that someday the ball would go over his head when it was passed to him. Lattin became less weary of this as he began to build trust amongst his team members. Another …

Interview No. 1652, Togo Railey

Combined Interviews

Togo Railey discusses his recruitment and experience playing for the Texas Western College basketball team. As a basketball player in Austin High School, he had two influential coaches who influenced his decision to attend Texas Western College. While in high school, he recalls the presence of Texas-Western’s basketball coach, Don Haskins, who actively promoted basketball in El Paso and was always looking for recruits. He discusses his admiration for Coach Haskins who he describes as well mannered, a taskmaster, and basketball enthusiast. Railey also describes his first impressions of the Texas-Western basketball team, who he knew would perform well because …

Interview No. 1650, Eddie Mullens

Combined Interviews

Eddie Mullens describes his career as a publicity director for the Texas Western College basketball team. When Coach Don Haskins first invited him to the campus, George McCarty, the athletic director, offered him a job. Mullens did not take the job at first due to the low pay, until he was called back days later with the offer of a higher salary. He believed Texas Western had a great team but did not foresee that it would make it to the national competition. Mullens is credited with giving nicknames to the team members such as Jim Barnes who he called …

Interview No. 1651, Richard Myers

Combined Interviews

Richard Myers discusses his background and experience playing for the Texas Western College basketball team that won the 1966 NCAA championship. As a native of Kansas, he discusses his optimistic first impressions of El Paso, coach Haskins, and his team. While his team attained notoriety for having five all-star African American players, Myers notes that their placement was due to their abilities, not because of their skin color. The media was responsible for placing such a heavy emphasis on his teammates’ skin color as the season progressed. He maintains that his team was not racially discriminated against as they travelled. …

Interview No. 1653, Nevil Shed

Combined Interviews

Nevil Shed discusses his experience playing for the Texas Western College basketball team. He discusses his initial prospects of working in the fast food industry but then decided it was not a career path he wanted to follow. Shed was recruited into Texas Western College basketball team thanks to a recommendation made by a former player of the team who recommended him to Coach Don Haskins. He then describes his first impressions of El Paso, its mountains, and its friendly atmosphere. Unlike other college campuses, he enjoyed that people talked to him to ask how he was doing. Coach Haskins …

Interview No. 1649, Jean H. Miculka

Combined Interviews

Jean H. Miculka begins by describing how he attained his job as an assistant coach for the Texas Western College basketball team. He describes his first impressions of the team as promising since the freshmen consistently beat the varsity students. As a coach, he confronted various challenges that emerged as Texas Western gained notoriety; they confronted various teams who placed all their efforts in trying to defeat them. Nevertheless, it was his team’s ability to score points and to cripple the others’ defense that overcame this challenge. He never felt discrimination whenever his team played against others from the Southwest …

Interview No. 1645, Don Haskins

Combined Interviews

He played basketball at Oklahoma A&M; he played with the Artesia Travelers in the National Industrial Basketball League; he went to a coaching clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Texas Western Head Coach George McCarty convinced Don Haskins to complete his degree; explains that in the interim he took a job coaching basketball and driving the school bus in Benjamin, Texas and later Hedley, Texas. Mr. Haskins recalls that while he was coaching at Dumas, Texas, George McCarty Dean from Texas Western College recruited him to be head coach. Mr. Haskins addresses his reputation as a tough coach by stating …

Interview No. 1641, Jerry Armstrong

Combined Interviews

Mr. Armstrong briefly explains how he got recruited from high school to play basketball for Coach Don Haskins; he explains that his desire to leave Missouri was to see a different part of the country; he describes the campus, climate, and friendliness of locals in El Paso and Texas Western College. Mr. Armstrong describes Don Haskins personality on and off the court as demanding but fair; he describes the 1965-66 team as very good and confident; he mentions how teams in the western U.S. did not receive the same coverage as eastern college teams at the time. Mr. Armstrong recounts …

Interview No. 1643, Willie Cager

Combined Interviews

He describes how he had to finish up courses in New York and later in El Paso in order to attend Texas Western College; he goes over how local recruiters selected him based on his basketball ability. Mr. Cager mentions that he had to adjust to the desert but that he had no real culture shock due to the diversity of his native New York City. He recounts having to adjust to Coach Haskins due to him stressing defense where he focused more on offense; he states that he was versatile and could play guard, forward, or center; he explains …