The violence that that the world witnessed in Minneapolis this month, and murders that happened in other cities since Trump resumed his tenure in office, is horrific. But it is not new. Blacks, Latinos, poor Americans have lived in fear of law enforcement for centuries. Mothers and fathers have talked with their children about the […]
Sensitive Content: This post contains graphic images On Thursday, January 30, 1919, began an unprecedented exposure of state-sanctioned violence by the Texas Rangers and their accomplices. During the following two weeks, many of the more than seventy witnesses testified before a joint committee of the Texas legislature about murder, torture, displacement, and other efforts of
The Canales Hearings of 1919: The Unprecedented Exposure of State-sanctioned Violence Read More »
Refusing to Forget mourns the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis. We note with alarm the statements by Trump administration officials, including the Attorney General, slandering the victims, lying about the incidents, and ordering an investigation not of the perpetrators but of the victims. We applaud
We Refuse to Forget the Murders of Renee Good & Alex Pretti Read More »
After Rodriguez’s arrest for supposedly killing Heffie Anderson, a white woman, a mob took him from his cell and burned him alive. According to historians William Carrigan and Clive Webb, the onlookers may have numbered in the thousands
115 Years Since Rocksprings: Lynching, Identity, and the Construction of the Individual Read More »
Official acknowledgement through the task of record keeping by the state is so common in our lives we take it for granted. Birth and death certificates mark our beginnings and endings in this world. It is a quite unremarkable process, indeed mundane. While the process of official acknowledgement is mundane, state recognition carries the dignity
Seeking Dignity for the Victims of La Mataza Read More »
I started this painting not out of some type of revenge or retribution of any kind, but from the desire to honor and to memorialize my Great grandfather Manuel Moralez, who was killed that early morning along with the 14 innocent men and boys
The Morning, The Coldness, & The Truth. Read More »
“We’re not going to open [the door] for them. I told them already.” The words decisively uttered by a Mexican immigration agent lingered in the air
Written by Tim Bowman I decided to experiment with something a little different in my Texas history class here at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) this past fall semester. Typically, for a Core-curriculum class, I would assign two books that the students would read in common outside of our primary source readings and central class
By Juan Carmona, RTF Member November 3, 2024, is going on my list as one of my proudest moments as an educator. In the past, I have had students participate in recreating important moments in history and sharing them with the public, such as readings from “The 1919 Canales Commission” highlighting the Underground Railroad in
By Ruben A. Arellano, 2024 The Mexican American Museum of Texas just celebrated its second year of existence, and in that time, it has brought three exhibits to North Texas. The museum’s tireless board members have worked hard to spread its message of preserving the deep roots of ethnic Mexicans in Texas and creating exhibits
The Mexican American Museum of Texas Presents: “Life and Death on the Border” Read More »
