Ruben Bonilla is an attorney in Corpus Christi. He is a graduate of The University of Texas (B.A.) and The University of Texas School of Law (J.D.) Admitted to the State Bar in 1971, he advocated for the Mexican American community with such groups as LULAC, the American G.I. Forum and the Texas Mexican-American Democrats. In his interview, he recounted his role as LULAC national president and civic leader.

Mr. Barrera grew up in and around Del Rio, Texas. His father was a sheep sheerer. Barrera talked about the importance of education to his parents and learning "proper" Spanish. He also talked about the San Felipe barrio and the schools. Later he moved out of the barrio into a more mixed community. He talked about the disparity in sporting equipment between Del Rio ISD & San Felipe. He also talked about teaching drama in Del Rio, the march in 1969, and the impact of school consolidation in 1971. He also mentioned discrimination his drama students experienced during a UIL meet where they were the better team but the Anglo judges gave the win to another team.

Interview with Becky Moeller, from Corpus Christi, Texas. In her interview, Moeller gives an overview of the labor movement & her prominent role in it. She covers her early life, working and becoming an union activist, labor unions and segregation, women's rights and gender equality, and the local political environment of Corpus Christi.

Gonzalo Barrientos discusses his life growing up in Bastrop, Texas and later serving as a Democratic State Senator representing the 14th District from 1985-2007. He was also a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Austin from 1975-1985.

Lionel Lopez is a retired firefighter and resident of Corpus Christi, Texas. He and his wife Juanita founded the South Texas Colonia Initiative, Inc, an organization that provides information and services to people in Colonias, communities in South Texas that often lack basic living necessities.

Perez talked about his life as a migrant worker and working in a cannery. Supporting the walkouts in Uvalde was his first political march. He also participated in voter registration drives at Texas A&I. Mr. Perez also discusses his time working with the La Raza Unida Party in Crystal City.

Rogelio talks about growing up in Uvalde and the amount of discrimination he faced, especially as a young man playing football. He talks about Uvalde's local economy of sheep/goat sheering.

Gilberto Torres grew up around Uvalde and the Winter Garden area. He recalled different instances of discrimination against people of Mexican descent, particular in school settings. Torres had a long career in the military and a prolonged tenure in the Uvalde County Commissioner's Court. He reminisced about his contentious relationship with other members of the court, and the sometimes heated exchanges between them.

Mr. Vallecillo was raised in the Rio Grande Valley by Mexican immigrant parents. In his youth, he quickly became aware of the discriminatory attitudes towards Mexican-Americans in communities like Harlingen. Mr. Vallecillo worked in the Valley as a school teacher and coach for several years after college. As years went on, he became more directly involved in activism, working with the Texas Rural Legal Aid and eventually joining the GI Forum and most recently, founding the Southwest Institute on Poverty and Civil Rights.

Diana Salgado grew up in the Barrio Chihuahua area of Del Rio in the 1940s. She recalled the discrimination in public spaces in the city (movie theaters, soda fountains…) and how the operators of these places would sometimes try to give her preferential treatment over other Mexican Americans due to her fair skin. Salgado married and dropped out of school shortly before her expected graduation; after spending some years in Arizona, her husband and her moved to San Jose, California, where she found a job in a fruit cannery. In her years working at the cannery, Salgado and her family witnessed the height of the farm workers' movement, and joined the boycotts (her husband was a union member). During her time at the cannery, she also realized the discriminatory practices against line workers and other unsavory actions by the management. She later quit the cannery and became a licensed realtor; after retiring, her family moved back to Texas, eventually resettling in Del Rio. She became involved with local politics through the Democratic Party; she was the chair of the Val Verde Co. committee and ran for several local posts. As leader of the local Democrats, in 2009 she challenged the …

Mr. Van Os grew up in segregated Kilgore, in East Texas; the first part of the interview is spent in his recollections of the era, including the eventual integration of the schools in the mid-to-late 1960s. He attended UT Austin, where he became involved in SDS and joined several activities that involved African American and Mexican American activists. While studying law, he did an internship with the law firm of David Richards, who had been working on voting rights litigation earlier that decade. After graduating, he worked as a union-side labor lawyer and represented the Austin chapter of the NAACP in a lawsuit to do away with at-large place system for city council elections. In addition to his early activism and work in civil rights litigation, Mr. Van Os talks about the relationship of racial and economic justice and the role of labor unions in ensuring both.

Richardson discusses his personal history as an African-American in San Antonio, Texas, learning about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Austin, and creating a branch in San Antonio.

Uriegas talks about growing up in Uvalde, being run out of Uvalde as a young man, and finishing high school in Del Rio. He talks about how Anglos in Uvalde used to turn the gas off the "Mexican" side of town to preserve pressure for the Anglo side when the weather was cold. He talks about the constant pressure that discriminatory treatment has on an individual's psyche. He talks about MAYO in Uvalde and serving on Uvalde city council. The most interesting part of the interview is him talking about him running VISTA MMP.

Mr. Montemayor was adopted by the Montemayor family in Laredo; his family was heavily involved in community affairs and Mexican American activism. His adoptive mother, Alicia Dickerson Montemayor, was elected vice president general of LULAC. After attending college in St. Edward's University in Austin, Mr. Montemayor worked as a teacher in Del Rio, where he became involved in Chicano activism. He was a central player in the events that led to the march in Del Rio, and later taught at walkout schools in Uvalde and other communities in the RGV. He was one of the founders of Colegio Jacinto Treviño (eventually becoming involved in Juarez Lincoln University). He eventually settled in San Antonio, where he became a full time staff member at IDRA. Throughout the interview, Mr. Montemayor talks about the pedagogical foundations for his work in Chicano-oriented courses, entrepreneurship, and some of the rifts that caused certain Chicano/a initiatives to split (e.g. Colegio Jacinto Treviño).

Gilbert Rivera is a retired energy professional, author, and activist. He and his wife have lived in the historically black Rosewood neighborhood of Austin for over 30 years. Gilbert was a member of the Brown Berets in Austin and other Chicano civil rights groups. In his interview, he talks about his early years; and resistance against rules against Spanish in schools.

Mr. Romo was born in Kyle, but grew up in Austin, near the UT campus. He later attended UT as a journalism major; when looking for an internship, he found work with Marcelo Tafoya at The Echo, a Chicano newspaper based in East Austin. Mr. Romo talks about his work and his views on Chicano-oriented journalism, as well as his involvement in initiatives for revitalization in East Austin. He was also involved in the creation of the Mexican American Cultural Center and worked in SER-Jobs for Progress.

Diane Montejano is a poet, educator, and activist. In her interview, Montejano talks about growing up on the west side of San Antonio, her role in the Brown Berets, differences between Southside/Westside Berets, and the decline of Berets.

Ms. Perez-Wiseley was raised in the west side of Corpus Christi. She witnessed some acts of racial and class discrimination, but was not directly subjected to it during her youth. While she was very involved in community and student affairs, she did not become involved in the Chicano movement until she attended UT in the early 70s. After being excluded from leadership position in the Young Democrats, she joined the Raza Unida Party and was a member of MAYO at UT. After college, she worked for the city of Austin and became heavily involved in American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (ASCFME), eventually becoming a full-time organizer. During the interview, Ms. Perez-Wiseley discusses race relations in Corpus Christi, her career in labor organizing (including her own struggles against inequities in pay within ASCFME) and her current involvement in politics.

Mr. Polanco is a former San Felipe student and former football coach with Del Rio High. He talks a little bit about his youth, some about his experiences at Texas A&I, and mostly about the school district consolidation. Some experiences about discrimination. One interesting fact about many of the Del Rio interviews--each of them seem to remember the segregated San Felipe District with special fondness despite, or perhaps, because of the segregation.

Juan Tejeda is the co-founder and producer of the Guadalupe Cultural Center's annual Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio. In his interview he discusses, growing up on the Southside of San Antonio, Mexican American Studies, and educational equality.

Tommie Wyatt talks about segregation and the newspaper business.

This is a wide-ranging interview by Mario Salas from his time as a child to his aspirations in the political arena

Mr. Tafoya grew up in Georgetown, Texas, but spent part of his youth working in several Catholic initiatives, including running an orphanage in Cuervanaca, Mexico. Upon returning to his hometown, he started working in the local radio station, eventually launching the first Spanish-language programming. Later, his radio shows took a political role, encouraging the Mexican American community to become involved. In later years, Mr. Tafoya launched Spanish radio programming in several Texas communities including Austin, where he settled permanently. He also worked in television and created a Chicano newspaper called The Echo. In the interview, Mr. Tafoya talks about his role as a community leader in East Austin and his role in the dissemination of Tejano music.

Irma Mireles is a civil rights activist from San Antonio. She was active in Raza Unida. Mireles was elected to a seat on the San Antonio River Authority and held office for six years.