Neal Pearson was raised in Florida and joined the military during the Korean war. After the war, he worked for the CIA and Department of State. Pearson attended Georgetown University as well as the University of Florida for his graduate degrees in foreign affairs and political science. He obtained his PhD from the University of Florida in political science with a focus on Latin America. He arrived at Texas Tech University in 1969 and belong to various civil rights organizations, including LULAC. Pearson also contacted the department of justice in regards to segregation within Lubbock public schools.

Macario Ramirez was born in 1937 in San Antonio. His family were migrant farm workers and traveled to the Midwest every year. He was in the military from 1956-59. Upon his return from the war, he gets involved in War on Poverty programs. Mr. Ramirez worked in Labor Training Programs in San Antonio, which eventually leads him to move to D.C. and work with a Man Power Training Program through the Department of Labor. He arrives in Houston and founded Casa Ramirez, a space that celebrate and provides culture and folklore to the Mexican American community of Houston.

Rogelio “Roger” Robles was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1929 and grew up in both Laredo and Lampazos, Nuevo Leon. Robles graduated from Martin High School in Laredo in 1948; he then briefly moved to New York City before he was drafted into the Korean War. After returning from the Korean War, Robles attended Midland College and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1960. He permanently moved to Midland to work within the Guadalupe Youth Service Center that same year. While in this job, Robles formed a parent’s organization in order to raise money for student scholarships to attend college. After leaving this job, Robles founded several small businesses and then began working a life insurance agent. Robles later became a real estate agent before running successfully to become a trustee of Midland Independent School District, becoming the first Mexican American to win a spot in the board. Robles helped started the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Farias was born in Brownsville in 1948 and moved to La Porte in 1962 when he was about to begin his Freshman year in High School. At La Porte High School, he was the only Latino and received no mentoring and no guidance during. Soon after graduating from High School, Farias joined the Air Force, spending a year (1968-1969) in Vietnam. While he met people from all over the United States, the war was a scary time for him as he survived an attack on the Air Force base. Farias' time in Vietnam, however, encouraged him to work with underrepresented youths through various capacities. Upon his return from the war, Farias worked with the Texas Juvenile Justice System as a Juvenile Probation Officer for 16 years. In the late 1970s, he served as the Executive Director for the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA) where he oversaw the George I. Sanchez School, the AAMA House (a home for drug abusers), and an AIDS/HIV Prevention Program. In 1992, Farias founded the Tejano Center for Community Concerns, a holistic way to address all needs of Latino families in Houston. Through this organization, he founded the Raúl Yzaguirre School For …

Daniel Bustamante was born in Corpus Christi in 1948 and was raised in both Mathis and Corpus Christi. He grew up in a farm worker family and attended the "Mexican" School in Mathis. His activist consciousness began in 1965, when he left to California to work in the fields--the discrimination he faced changed him. In addition, he became a conscious objector during the Vietnam War. He attended Del Mar College from 1967-1969, where he became involved in the Anti-War Movement, the Young Democrats, and supported the UFW Grape Boycott. He moved to Houston in 1969 to attend the University of Houston. At UH, he became involved in MAYO efforts. In 1975, he hosted a party that ended in an incident of police brutality. Bustamante, along with 2 other activists (Eddie Canales and Elliot ?) sued HPD in Federal Court and won in 1979. In 1977-1978, in the aftermath of the Joe Campos Torres death and the Moody Park Rebellion, Bustamante led several marches and pickets to demonstrate against police brutality in Houston. In the late 1970s, he worked at Casa de Amigos in the Northside, an institution geared to address health care isses and drug abuse in the community. In …

Ida Bridgewater discusses growing up in the Stop Six Neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, where her parents, Garfield and Dorothy Thompson were civil rights activists. Her father graduated from I.M. Terrell High School and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was elected state representative of District 95 and held office for 10 years until his retirement.

Jon Holmes was born in Lubbock and grew up in a farm near the city while being educated in Lubbock’s school system. He graduated from Lubbock High School and later attended Texas Tech University. At Texas Tech, Holmes participated in the campus anti-Vietnam War Movement and in the underground student newspaper named The Catalyst. Because of his work, especially in pointing out racial discrimination in Lubbock within the The Catalyst, Holmes and his fellow student advocates faced police harassment and violence. Facing such oppression, he moved to New York where he began a successful writing career. He has published articles in numerous publications like the New York Times and has published two cultural history books.

Mr. Calyen was born and raised in Conroe, Texas. He lived in a segregated neighborhood and attended Booker T. Washington schools until 1966, when he participated in "freedom of choice" and attended Conroe High School. While in high school, he participated in three marches in 1964 and 1965 to protest continued discrimination. He graduated in 1968 and enrolled in the military. He spent a year in Vietnam and then moved to New York City, where he married and spent almost thirty years as a postal carrier. He then returned to Conroe where he has remained active in his community. Mr. Calyen described race relations in Conroe in the 50s and 60s, segregation and integration, the black community, the impact of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, his experiences in New York as compared to Conroe, and community activism in Conroe since the 1990s.

I.D. Henderson, Jr. was the first Black County Commissioner of Angelina County, Texas. He served in that position from the early 1980s until the early 2000s. He was very involved in Lufkin politics and helped to improve the infrastructure of the Black Lufkin community. Mr. Henderson is also a war veteran who served in Vietnam and Korea. Mr. Henderson discussed the segregation and discrimination he witnessed from his birth in the Lufkin area in the late 1920s, his time in the military and his return to Lufkin in the 1970s. Mr. Henderson discussed receiving death threats before and after he won his county commissioner office. Also Mr. Henderson discussed his involvement in many other organizations.

Mr. Herbert Cross was born and raised near Fort Worth. He was drafted into the Marines during the Korean War, where he served for two years. He then went to college and was hired by Dunbar High School in Fort Worth. He then became principal at an elementary. He was tapped to be assistant principal of Lufkin High School the first year of integration and continued as a principal in the Lufkin School District until his retirement in the 1980s. In the interview, Mr. Cross describes the discrimination he and his family faced as a child, particularly after the family joined a lawsuit for better facilities in their school, his time in the military, his fight for equal treatment as a teacher and administrator in the Lufkin school system, how integration went during his time as principal, and the discrimination he faced from his colleagues.

I.D. Henderson, Jr. was the first Black County Commissioner of Angelina County, Texas. He served in that position from the early 1980s until the early 2000s. He was very involved in Lufkin politics and helped to improve the infrastructure of the Black Lufkin community. Mr. Henderson is also a war veteran who served in Vietnam and Korea. Mr. Henderson discussed the segregation and discrimination he witnessed from his birth in the Lufkin area in the late 1920s, his time in the military and his return to Lufkin in the 1970s. Mr. Henderson discussed receiving death threats before and after he won his county commissioner office. Also Mr. Henderson discussed his involvement in many other organizations.

Mr. Jones was born in Conroe and raised in both Tamina and near Conroe; his parents lived on two properties owned by Dr. Hayes and worked for him in various capacities. Mr. Jones described going to segregated schools, segregation in Conroe, and his time at Booker T. Washington school. He was at TSU in Houston during the riot and participated in a march to downtown. He was drafted into the military and discusses race relations in Germany during the Vietnam War. He returned to the US where he worked as a welder and engineer while pursuing a music career. He recently was photographed for a book on Tamina and described his experience going to see the exhibit at the Smithsonian. Mr. Jones provided a great description of segregation in Conroe, the environment at TSU, and Tamina.

Art Leal was born and raised in Odessa, Texas. Leal graduated from Odessa High School, after which he joined the U.S. Army and served in the first Gulf War. He graduated from Odessa College and the University of Texas at the Permian Basin. Leal ran for mayor of Odessa in 2008. Leal has been Ector County Democrat Precinct 406 Chair, is a member Mexican American Democrats Texas, has organized first Cesar Chavez Day March in Odessa, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Declamations in Odessa, Civic Participation Workshops in Odessa, of Election Debates/Forums in Ector County, multiple 1st Amendment Demonstrations in Odessa, is past Chairman Una Voz Unida of Odessa, is past Board Member Black Chamber of Commerce, is past Ambassador Odessa Chamber of Commerce, is past Board Member City of Odessa Planning Board of Adjustments, is past Chairman Odessa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and is past Co Chair March of Dimes. Finally Leal help start the Brown Berets Odessa (the city’s second Brown Beret group).

Kelton Sams Jr. was born in Galveston in 1943. He grew up on 43rd Street close to the Palm Terrace Housing Projects North of Broadway, mostly an African American area. He attended Central High School, the historic Black School. During spring break of junior year at Central, he led a sit-in at different lunch counters on the Island. This demonstration led to the desegregation of restaurants in Galveston. Following the sit-ins, Sams led other efforts on the Island including the desegregation of a Dairy Queen and Stewart Beach. Upon his graduation from Central High School in 1961, he left Galveston and attended Texas Southern University where he quickly became active in different movements including protesting segregated movie theaters and voting registration efforts. Sams briefly became involved in Houston's War on Poverty programs through the Harris County Community Action Agency, where he led several initiatives. Mr. Sams has also been involved with the Unitarian Church and has worked for the City of Houston in urban development as a contractor until his recent retirement. In 2015, Mr. Sams published a book entitled Growing Up In Galveston, Texas, where he shared his story growing up on the Island and his experiences in desegregation …

Guillermo "Willie" Serna was born in Seguin, Texas in 1927 where he attended “Mexican schools.” He served in the Pacific during World War II after volunteering in 1944 (he was in the service until 1947). Upon his return to Seguin, Serna was part of creating the fourth chapter of the American GI Forum in his home town in 1948 with over 100 members. He worked as a migrant farm worker, traveling to West Texas, Ohio and Indiana. In Indiana he, Serna organized a strike for higher wages that were equal to Anglo workers. Serna moved to La Mesa, Texas where he eventually gained a job in the local employment office (Texas Workforce Commission), where he helped other Mexican Americans gain government jobs. He eventually began directing the office and moved to San Angelo to also managed the local office in the 1970s. During the 1970s, San Angelo’s LULAC chapter was founded, for which Serna became president. Within this office, Serna helped launch various suits or threats of suits at the county and city level as well as against the local school district and Angelo State University. Serna also worked in Austin for the William P. Clements administration and served as …

Ben Reyes was born in Burton, Texas in 1947. His family moved to Denver Harbor in Houston. The Reyes family worked as local migrant workers, picking up different crops in the surrounding areas of Houston. He faced discrimination in the schools he attended, and was even placed in Special Education classes since he only spoke Spanish. Reyes' mother was active in the community, and thus encouraged his activism as he began his community work at the age of eleven, registering people to vote. Reyes fought in the Vietnam War, and upon his return to Houston, he became involved in veteran groups that were demanding equality.He then met Lionel Castillo, who groomed him to become a politician and became a mentor. In 1972, after the creation of Single-Member districts, Reyes ran for State Representative of District 87. He and Mickey Leland employed cross-racial campaign tactics in order to win the support of African-Americans in his district. Reyes won the election. As a State Representative, he helped with the creation of single-member districts in Texas to ensure the representation of minorities in politics. In 1979, he ran for Houston City Council and became the first Mexican-American to hold a seat in council. …

David H. O'Neal was born in 1948 in Galveston. He comes from a family of three people who traveled to the South to make a living. O'Neal grew-up in a few African-American housing projects on the island. He attended Central High, the first African-American high school in Texas, and his was the last class to graduate before the creation of the integrated Ball High. O'Neal relocated to Houston in 1966 to enroll in the University of Houston, where he would participate in student activism and the creation of an African-American fraternity (the Omega Theta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity). He returned to the island after graduating from college. In Galveston, O'Neal started a career as a post office worker, served on the Board of Trustees for Galveston Independent School District, and participated in the preservation of African-American history on the island. O'Neal talks about experiences with discrimination, how significant Central High was to African-Americans, his decision to attend college over enlisting to serve in the Vietnam War, the role of African-American fraternities, his involvement in Afro-Americans for Black Liberation and the Black Student Union, cross-racial student endeavors, African American Studies at UH, and his commitment to racial uplift. He …

Floyd Price was born in Lubbock and grew up in a near by town. Floyd graduated from Dunbar High School in 1959. He received a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Wayland Baptist University in 1976. Floyd is a retired veteran of the Lubbock Police Department where he served for 33 years. He also served in the U.S. Army. Currently he works part-time with the Lubbock County Sheriff's Department.Floyd has always been a public servant, and especially enjoys working with young people. He had the honor of speaking to United Youth Congress in 1989, 1993, and 1997. Floyd enjoys singing, teaching the Bible, and playing sports. He has received numerous awards in his lifetime, including Citizen of the Year in 1995 and 1996, Man of the Year in 1990, and Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Readers Choice Award for Best Law Officer in 1994, 1995, and 1996.Floyd has also served on many boards, including Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Consortium Committee for the Homeless, Hospice of Lubbock, and Texas Agricultural Extension Board. Currently, Floyd serves on the YWCA Cancer Survivorship Cancer Coalition Advisory Board and the South Plains Association of Governments Criminal Justice Advisory Committee.

Eva Benavides was born in 1952 in Baytown. She attended Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary, the Baytown Mexican School, and witnessed segregation in her youth. She experienced a culture shock when she attended the integrated Baytown Junior High. Inspired by her mother's and father's dedication to helping others, Benavides served as a Baytown City Councilwoman and became involved in the West Baytown Civic Association. The Luis Alfonso Torres police brutality case galvanized her and others to forge a cross-racial coalition (United Concerned Citizens of Baytown) to hold the police department accountable. Benavides talks about how Mexican Americans were situated in a segregated Baytown, the importance of Fiesta Patrias, her involvement in the PTO, her determination to become a city councilwoman and her experiences as an Mexican American female representative for a single member district, how she bodly held the Baytown Police Department accountable for the Luis Alfonso Torres case when other Mexican American representative refused to speak out, and cross-racial efforts to address police brutality. She also discusses gentrification and how her community lacks businesses and grocery stores, how she taught citizenship classes for many years, the role of Exxon in Baytown, and how city council representatives have to address race …

Juan Parras was born in Big Spring in 1949. He moved to San Antonio to attend seminary and attended St. Mary's in 1968 before transferring to the University of Houston in 1971. He began working at the Harris County Welfare Department where he led a walkout. Mr. Parras discusses unionizing and his 15 year career working with the International Union and other unions. His latest activism revolves around environmental justice issues and is the founder of Tejas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), an organization working in Houston since 2006.

Mr. Wright was born and raised in Liberty, Texas in the 1930s. HE grew up on a farm and went to segregated schools. After his graduation in 1954, he went to Prairieview A&M for a brief period of time before joining the army, where he was stationed in Germany. He returned to Texas in 1960 and began working as a medical technologist. Later, he worked for NASA on the Apollo 11 mission, the EEOC, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In his interview, Mr. Wright describes Liberty in the 1940s and 1950s, his experience in the army, discrimination on the job in the 1960s and 1970s, community activism, his experiences as city councilman in Ames, and his hopes for hte area's future.

Perri "P.K." McCary was born in 1953 in Texarkana. She grew-up in a ethnically diverse community in Alamo Garden, New Mexico and later lived near Prairie View A&M University when her father obtained a teaching position in the Industrial Education Department. McCary's parents gave her the tools to resist discrimination by exhibiting a strong sense of self and for confronting racist acts in front of her. She would opt to attend Jack Yates High School when her family moved to Houston because of the poor treatment of African-American students at the predominately white Madison High School. By 1970, McCary was attending the University of Houston and becoming involved in student activism. She would later engage in peace work and adapting religious texts with Black urban language to appeal to youth. She talks about instances of racism growing up, how her early experiences with diversity shaped the ways in which she engaged in cross-racial collaborations in her adult life, how Deloyed Parker and Ester King mentored her at UH, police brutality, and her family's association with the political movements of the 1960s and 1970s. She also discusses SHAPE Community Center and the Elders Institute of Wisdom, when she wrote a newspaper …

Interview with Ricardo De Anda, a civil rights attorney from Laredo, Texas. In his interview, he discusses his early life and education, political activism, the Chicano movement, Black Panthers, and working on the Ramsey Muniz campaign. He also talks about his work with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and legal cases related to school segregation.

Robert and Paul discussed the history of the Noyola family, the different paths taken by various family members, and the political diversity within the family.