Arnoldo De Leon was born in 1945 in Corpus Christi, Texas. His family lived in Chapman Ranch, an unincorporated community in Nueces County, south of Corpus Christi. In 1956, the De Leons and their family of ten children moved to Robstown. De Leon graduated from high school in 1962 after which he worked in the cotton fields of the area to save up for college, a job he had during summers as a child and teenager. He attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, but he could not afford to attend longer than a year. He joined the military in order to attend college, joining the U.S. Air Force from 1963-1967. While stationed in San Angelo, Texas, he attended Angelo State University where he obtained his B.A. in history in 1970. TCU recruited De Leon, where he obtained his M.A. and PhD in history (1974). He taught Mexican American history at Angelo State and authored or co-authored 21 books.

Ms. Easley was born and raised in Montgomery, Texas. She is the descendant of slaves from the area, and she has traced her lineage back to the arrival of her family in Texas. She attended segregated schools until ninth grade, graduated from Sam Houston State University, and began a successful corporate career in Houston. She returned to Montgomery where she retired. In her interview, Ms. Easley describes life and conditions in Montgomery when she was growing up, her families long history, the way her family sheltered her from the harshness of discrimination, her time at Sam Houston State, political activism, her career, and how Montgomery has changed over time.

Interview with Rolando Herrera of Laredo, Texas.

Elvira Martinez was born in 1929 in Baytown, Texas. Her father lived in "El Campo," the Humble Oil and Refinery Company community for their predominately Mexican American male employees. Martinez remembers growing up in the company community and how families forged deep bonds. She attended the Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School, the Baytown Mexican School that was originally funded by the Humble Oil and Refinery Company. Through the music program at the Baytown Mexican School, Martinez was able to travel the country as a player in the group La Tipica. She talks about the development of the Baytown Mexican School and how it served as the first ESL program. Martinez also discusses the role that Dr. Antonio Bañuelos played in the development of La Tipica, how La Tipica was portrayed as an "authentic" Mexican group from Jalisco, how she had to act like she did not know English while traveling throughout the nation, the Mexican musicians she encountered during her involvement in La Tipica, and how this female music group played for WWII bond drives at the behest of the Humble Oil and Refinery Company. Martinez addresses the role of Mexican celebrations, Baytown Mexican School's role in the creation of …

Raphael Montgomery was born in 1973 in Baytown. He came of age in the African-American Cedar Bayou neighborhood where there was a vibrant African-American business community and residents created a village setting. His parents raised him with the idea that he had to work harder and smarter due to racial discrimination. After graduating from Ross S. Sterling High School, Montgomery attended Prairie View A&M briefly before enrolling at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. At Fisk University, he gained a deeper awareness of the Civil Rights Movement and African-American history that he did not receive in public school. The knowledge he gleaned from African-American texts and African-American Studies courses instilled a sense of pride and the ability to perservere. During these college years, Montgomery received the call to become a minister and to later return to Baytown to preach at his childhood church, Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. He talks about racial profiling by the police, growing up in the church and his father's role as a preacher, the benefits of attending a HBCU, and his position as a special education teacher for Goose Creek Independent School District. He also describes his unity and inclusion work in Baytown through his church …

Interview with Diana Palacios, a civil servant from Crystal City, Texas. In the interview, Palacios discusses her family background, segregation, experiencing discrimination at school, and a student walkout that took place at Crystal City High School in 1969.

Mike Wilson was born in Dayton, Ohio, in the 1960s, where he witnessed white flight and urban decay. He grew up in all-Black spaces and was surrounded by a community of Black progressives. When he was in second grade, his parents divorced, subsequently moving him to Louisiana. Upon his arrival to the South, he faced a culture shock, as he believed African Americans were more “submissive” and “knew their place.” Two years later, his parents got back together and moved to Baytown. Wilson attended Robert E. Lee High School in the 1980s, where he still experienced the remnants of segregation. As a young adult, Wilson witnessed the lack of mentorship for African American men in Baytown, which drove him to get involved in efforts to create programing to prevent gang activity and juvenile delinquency amongst Blacks and Latinos. He became the executive director for a pilot project funded by the Texas General Attorney’s Office called Gang Activity Prevention (GAP). Most recently, Wilson founded and directs Upgrade 2 the Next Level, a self-funded program for the youth in Baytown that serves as an outlet for discipline and self-expression.

Interview with Carlos Moore, from Fort Worth, Texas. In his interview, he discusses his early life and family history, time in the military, race relations in Fort Worth, labor unions and Democratic party activities.

Interview with Carlos Marentes, a farm labor organizer and farm worker advocate from the Juarez-El Paso border region. He founded the Border Agricultural Workers Project and participates in local, state, and national organizations dealing with inequality and climate change. In his interview, Marentes discusses his early life and activism.

Interview with Antonio Marin, from El Paso, Texas. In his interview, he discusses his childhood, education, civil rights activism, community involvemen, and experiences with racism in south Texas.

Interview with Israel Reyna, a lawyer and community activist from Laredo, Texas. In his interview, Reyna discusses his family history, residential and school segregation, student activism, civil rights organization Mexican Americans for Democratic Action (MADA), La Raza Unida, the Chicano movement, and elections in South Texas.

Interview with Alcadio Zamudio, from Weslaco, Texas. In his interview, Mr. Zamudio discusses his background, attending the University of Wisconsin, organizing in Wisconsin among migrant workers, La Raza Unida in Wisconsin, the Pharr, Texas riot, and other topics related to Chicano rights and political activity.

Interview with Gilberto Garcia and Jaime Garza in Mercedes, Texas. Garza and Garcia discuss their experiences with migrant farm work, racism, civil rights and labor activism in Texas.

Interview with Juan Vargas, from Laredo, Texas. In his interview, Mr. Vargas discusses his military service and education, his family background, growing up in Laredo, discrimination he experienced in the US Navy, political activism with Raza Unida, the Chicano movement, employment, and his work with the Community Action Agency, and assistance for Colonias.

Interview with Billy and Filomena Leo. Billy Leo is the former mayor of La Joya, Texas. Filomena Leo was an educator for over 30 years and retired as the Superintendent of Schools for La Joya ISD. Mr. and Mrs. Leo discuss their experiences with politics and community leadership in South Texas. Mr. Leo discusses his father, Leo J. Leo's political career.

Cornelia Harris Banks was born in Galveston in 1947.She grew up in a neighborhood on the South of Broadway, which was a mixed neighborhood. Harris Banks witnessed segregated public spaces on the Island and the integration of schools in the 1960s. She graduated from high school in 1965 and attended Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, where she remained until 1996. Upon her return to Galveston in the late 1990s, she became very involved in the community. Subsequently, Harris Banks became the first African American Woman City Council member on the Island in 2000. During her tenure, she became involved in housing efforts (which she continues to work on in present day), in creating parks and recreation spaces, and revitalizing Galveston in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008. Harris Banks is also involved in the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and in local preservation efforts that highlight the history of African Americans in Galveston.

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 …

Izola Collins was born in Galveston, Texas in 1929. Her mother's family has been on the island since the 1860s when her great grandfather, Horace Scull, moved his children and wife into the area. Her grandfather, Ralph Albert Scull, was one of the first African American teachers in Galveston. She grew up in the East End of the Island, where she believed a life of luxury although her family was poor. She attended Central High School and joined the band and learned about African American history. She left the Island in the late 1940s to attend Prairie View A&M and graduated with a degree in music. She began teaching the Bay City band, then left to Evanston to attend Northwestern where she received her Master's in music in 1953. Collins returned to Galveston and taught music at different schools in the area (Hitchcock) and at Goliad and Stephen F. Austin schools. She became celebrated as her students represented Galveston in different state competitions. In 1986, she ran for the board of the Galveston Independent School District and won. Collins served for 9 years and became president of the board during her last term. She has been recently involved in the …

Oscar del Toro was born in Coahuila, México in 1964. At age 4, he and his family moved to Monterrey, where he came of age and lived until he moved to the United States in 2000. He fully described 12 year waiting period to immigrate to Pasadena. A businessman, he joined the Chamber of Commerce, which propelled him to become interested in politics. In 2015, he unsuccessfully ran for one of the at-large districts following the redistricting of Pasadena in 2013. He described the redistricting and how it took power away from the Latino community in Pasadena, and the current lawsuit.

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 …

Felix Fraga was born in Houston in 1929. His parents settled in Houston's East End. At a young age, he began working in the Rusk Settlement House, where his bosses supported him and his education. He attended the University of Houston on a baseball scholarship. His work in the Rusk Settlement House and the growth of the Mexican American population in the area led him to work at the Ripley House in 1954. In 1970, he became the director of the Ripley House until he stepped down in 1990. During his tenure as director, he instituted several programs to help the community including English and citizenship classes, youth mentoring, early childcare, and became a polling place. In the last few years, the Ripley House has expanded by creating several charter schools to help the community of East End. Fraga served in the Houston Independent School District from 1990-1994 and in Houston City Council from 1994-1999. Towards the conclusion of his interview, Fraga discusses his legacy and and community leader Lionel Castillo.

Patricia "Pat" Gonzales was born in 1967 in Houston in the Gulfgate area. She moved to the toxic Manchester neighborhood, a predominately Latina/o area of town next to the oil refineries, after she graduated from high school. Gonzales became active in the environmental justice movement due to the health issues she acquired while living next to the refineries. She later worked for the Texas Organizing Project to address the lack of infrastructure in the Northern Pasadena area. Gonzales discusses the risk of explosions in Pasadena, attending EPA conferences and addressing environmental racism, how the Anglo power structure functions in Pasadena, and how both African Americans and Latinas/os are neglected. She also talks about the recent voting rights violations in Pasadena and how the city capitulates to the interests of the oil industry.

Florentino "Tino" Gonzalez was born in 1959 in Galveston and came of age in the Eastend, an African American and Mexican American neighborhood. He attended Catholic school for his primary and secondary education and struggled initially to learn English. After doing construction work for a few years post-graduation, Gonzalez attended Galveston College where he recieved the individualized attention necessary to thrive and matriculate. As the Vice President of Moody National Bank, he served on many boards of historical and non-profit organizations. Gonzalez talks about how his family migrated from Monterrey, Mexico to Galveston, how his cross-ethnic experiences growing up provided him a broad perspective, how his high school did not prepare him to go to college, and how Galveston College provided him the environment necessary to gain an education and prosper in life. He also talks about how his ability to listen and read coupled with his desire to represent Latina/o perspectives afforded him the opportunity to serve on several institutional boards, such as the Family Service Center, the Galveston Sustainable Community Alliance. Gonzalez describes his position as a Galveston College Board of Regents member and how he has focused on the recruitment and retention of working class, ethnic, and …

James Josey Sr. was born in Galveston in 1947 and grew-up in the predominately African American neighborhood located north of Broadway St. Josey Sr. came of age witnessing segregation. He attended Central High, the African American High School, served in Vietnam, and lived in Los Angeles, California for a few years before returning to island in 1991. He talks about the robust African American business sector during Jim Crow and how the national movements for Civil Rights, lead by MLK and Malcolm X, spurred the youth-directed desegregation efforts in Galveston. Josey Sr. also addresses his involvement in gang prevention, becoming a mentor to young African American males, the role of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity in Galveston, and the meaning of Juneteenth. He speaks about why he founded the first African American History Museum in Galveston and the critical role that it has played in the community. Lastly, Josey Sr. discusses notable African Americans in Galveston.