Eternal vigilance: politics, race, and the struggle for educational equity in a Central Texas Community

Abstract

This article documents the emergence of a Mexican-American political consciousness in a Central Texas Community and the efforts to dismantle decades of inequitable, exclusionary educational policies and practices. We take readers into a community on the verge of profound change by exploring primary historical data and situating the voices of community leaders in a historical context. We employ a theory of change framework (RASPPA) to chronicle a community’s response to macro-level societal changes. To understand the need for Mexican-American activism in Central Texas, we providing a survey of literature that chronicles Mexican-American experience in Texas. This is a story about a community realizing its political capacity and leveraging its own agency for change. We take a walk-through history and use place, race, identity and courage to inform a new vision for educational equity.

KEYWORDS:

• Mexican American community
• education
• micro-politics of education
• community change
• education and democracy
• oral history

Notes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The term research partners as opposed to research participants is utilized throughout the text to better describe, capture, and inform the collective nature of the inquiry process.

2 Translation: We were all Mexicans in that school.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samuel García

Samuel García Jr., is a NASA Education Specialist, Assistant Professor of Practice, LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research, Texas State University.

Miguel A. Guajardo

Miguel A. Guajardo is Professor of Education and Community Leadership and member of the doctoral faculty in School Improvement at Texas State University. His research interests include issues of community building, leadership development, race and ethnicity, engaged scholarship and Latino youth and families. He is the co-founder of the Community Learning Exchange, an emerging interdisciplinary community of practice that unites the power of place and the wisdom of people to advocate and work towards community change.