A matter of justice
The uninvestigated homicides of la matanza
From July to November 1915, it is estimated that between 200 to 300 individuals were killed in what the community called la matanza (massacre) in Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy and Kenedy counties.
No one was ever held accountable for the murders and to the present these homicides are still not officially acknowledged by the State of Texas or county law enforcement offices.
The injustice of erasure continues.
The Report
The report, “A Matter of Justice: The Uninvestigated Homicides of La Matana,” was written in an effort pursue justice for the victims of la matanza. The report is based on three lists that documented the murders providing various amounts of information. In some instances, the victims are named with approximate dates and locations and in other instances victims are not named. These lists are coupled with other documentation and sources.
The Author’s Introduction, Seeking Dignity for the Victims of La Matanza, offers deeper insight into the motivations behind this report—how it came to be written and why its call for justice remains urgent and relevant today.
The Report
The report, “A Matter of Justice: The Uninvestigated Homicides of La Matana,” was written in an effort pursue justice for the victims of la matanza. The report is based on three lists that documented the murders providing various amounts of information. In some instances, the victims are named with approximate dates and locations and in other instances victims are not named. These lists are coupled with other documentation and sources.
The Author’s Introduction, Seeking Dignity for the Victims of La Matanza, offers deeper insight into the motivations behind this report—how it came to be written and why its call for justice remains urgent and relevant today.
Trinidad Gonzales is a history and Mexican American Studies instructor at South Texas College and a co-founder of Refusing to Forget, a nationally recognized public history project devoted to remembering state-sanctioned violence against Mexicans and Mexican Americans during the 1910s in Texas. He also engaged in public advocacy for the creation of a Mexican American Studies high school course and helped lead the effort to reject a racist textbook concerning Mexican Americans. Besides his public history and advocacy for Mexican American Studies he served on the American Historical Association Council as a Teaching Division Councilor, 2014-2017 and currently is on the board of the National Humanities Alliance.
Trinidad Gonzales is a history and Mexican American Studies instructor at South Texas College and a co-founder of Refusing to Forget, a nationally recognized public history project devoted to remembering state-sanctioned violence against Mexicans and Mexican Americans during the 1910s in Texas. He also engaged in public advocacy for the creation of a Mexican American Studies high school course and helped lead the effort to reject a racist textbook concerning Mexican Americans. Besides his public history and advocacy for Mexican American Studies he served on the American Historical Association Council as a Teaching Division Councilor, 2014-2017 and currently is on the board of the National Humanities Alliance.