In late April, 1970, Texas Rangers appeared in Uvalde, pointing rifles at students who walked out of school in protest at discrimination. This thread explores the Ranger’s role in the Anglo establishment’s effort to stop this protest.
Beginning on April 14, 1970, 600+ students participated in a walkout to protest the inequality of educational resources, prompted by the dismissal of beloved Robb Elementary teacher, Josué “George” Garza. https://www.npr.org/2022/05/31/1102260606/what-robb-elementary-school-has-meant-in-uvaldes-history-of-mexican-activism
Protestors issued 14 demands, including the reinstatement of Garza, access to bilingual education, and no more punishment for speaking Spanish. They attracted support from Mexican American leaders across the state.
Soon Rangers showed up in town. Many protestors, peaceful and unarmed, remember their shock at having weapons pointed at them by Rangers. Elvia Perez said this in a 2016 interview:
Roberto Morales, a sixth grader who walked out, remembers “they brought in the Texas Rangers and Highway Patrol, and they’re up on the junior high . . .and they would be up on top with rifles, you know, pointing at us.” https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth992328/m1/?q=Roberto%20morales#track/2
The Rangers dispatched to Uvalde were led by Captain Alfred Y. Allee, notoriously violent when it came to suppressing labor and civil rights protests. https://twitter.com/Refusing2Forget/status/1642143914785230849?s=20
José Uriegas, a Uvalde storekeeper who supported the walkout, confronted Allee. “I asked him . . . being cynical as shit . . . you’re always saying one riot – one Ranger. You’ve got fifty Rangers here with all these children.” p 165-166 of https://www.amazon.com/Civil-Rights-Black-Brown-Resistance/dp/1477323783
Ranger intimidation did not work. The walkout continued and resulted in the formation of the Mexican American Parents Association, which mounted a successful suit against the school district, Morales v. Shannon.
Josué Garza, the teacher whose dismissal instigated the walkout, eventually returned to Uvalde and was twice elected mayor. https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-1970-school-walkout-members-parallels-current-calls/story?id=89182573
Uvalde and Robb Elementary came to national attention in 2022 when a gunman killed nineteen students and two teachers. Texas Rangers were on the scene but, like other law enforcement, delayed entering the school. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/06/texas-ranger-uvalde-shooting-criminal-cases-kindell/
As @pistoleraprod observes, the massive law enforcement presence in Uvalde does not deliver security for its residents, the myth of the Rangers notwithstanding. https://www.palabranahj.org/archive/a-dome-of-insecurity
