Discussed her mother's work as a domestic, the family's encounters with racism, her entrepreneurship, and her work on civil rights and black women's empowerment.

Mr. Reyes was born in Mexico on his family's farm. One of 12 children, he excelled in school, pursuing an engineering degree. He then followed his family to Lufkin, where he worked for Lufkin Industries. After nearly twenty years working, he and his brother opened a Spanish-language newspaper, La Lengua. In his interview, he discusses his childhood and young adulthood in Mexico, assimilation and difficulties in Lufkin, his work career, the creation of La Lengua, and his contributions to the Mexican-American community in Lufkin through his newspaper and civic service.

David T. Lopez was born in Laredo, TX. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he became involved as a reporter and editor for the Daily Texan and the Texas Ranger. His involvement in news reporting lead him to work for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, where he reported on Black and Brown efforts in school desegregation. Attracted by Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers movement, Lopez would participate in the strikes in the Rio Grande Valley and would report on the repressive tactics of the Texas Rangers as a plaintiff in the Medrano v. Allee lawsuit. He eventually got his law degree at South Texas College of Law in Houston and worked as a field representative for the AFL-CIO. Lopez discusses how he served on the HISD school board, the politics of the Huelga School Strike, how he was one of the first lecturers for the University of Houston Center for Mexican American Studies, and police brutality.

Jew Don Boney, Jr. was born in 1951 in Temple. His first experience with segregation was when his mother was initally denied entry into Scott and White Hospital when she went into labor with Boney. His parents were educators and his father wrote a dissertation on the racial biases in standarized testing while pursuing a doctorate in Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Boney relocated to Austin in 1966 and attended the University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 1969. He became involved in Black-Brown student activism at this time. After spending a few years in radio and TV, Boney worked for the Urban League and became the Chairman of the National Black United Front Chapter in Houston. He later served as a city councilman for District D and a Mayor Pro Tem. Boney dedicated three years to the Free Clarence Bradley Campaign in order to exonerate a man falsely accused of the rape and murder of a white woman in Conroe, spent time bridging African and U.S. relations, advanced economic initiatives in Africa, and secured grants to process the Mickey Leland Papers at Texas Southern University while he served as the Associate Director for …

Karen Hildebrand was born in Odessa, Texas in 1958. She graduated from Permian High School in 1976 and attended Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, where she graduated in 1981. Hildebrand returned to Odessa and worked for various non-profits, including Planned Parenthood. She served various capacities within Planned Parenthood, including becoming CEO for twenty-three years. Hildebrand has also served in the Peace Corps, earned a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Texas-Permian Basin, and now heads for a women’s crisis center.

Clyde “Chico” James grew up in segregated 1940s and 1970s Lubbock. He later graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. He spent time in Mexico City and has lived between Lubbock and Mexico City for several decades. In Lubbock, James has been active in city politics and neighborhood associations. Specifically, James helped start an effort to save a Lubbock magnet school attended by Mexican Americans from destruction by a anti-Mexican school board.

Mr. Mitchell was born and raised in Stamps, Arkansas. Mitchell traveled to the Cleveland area after the saw mill in Arkansas was shut down. Mr. Mitchell received his barber's license and started his own barbershop in the 1960s. Mr. Mitchell worked in other industries while sustaining his barber shop. Mr. Mitchell and other members of the Cleveland Black community organized in efforts to integrate Cleveland. They attended several government meetings and negotiated with officials. Mr. Mitchell once showed up at a meeting of the local white citizen council and received death threats after revealing his opinion about the council's proposal of halting integration by providing more funding for the Cleveland Black school. Following the meeting, Mitchell received a death threat by a local pastor. Mitchell ultimately served for decades on the Cleveland school board after being elected in the 1960s.

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.

Daniel Caudillo was born to Mexican immigrants in Odessa, Texas. He grew up as a migrant child with a home base in Odessa. Caudillo graduated from Permian High School in 2000, and then briefly attended Odessa College and the University of Texas-Permian Basin. He graduated from Texas Tech University in 2003 and then the Law School of Texas Tech University in 2007. Caudillo then went to work for an immigration law firm in El Paso, Texas; he opened his own law firm dedicated to immigration law in 2008 with offices in both El Paso and Odessa. Caudillo advises the public on immigration law through various non-profits.

Maria Strong was born in Nebraska but grew up between Lubbock and California’s Coachella Valley. As a teenager, she left school and became the sole breadwinner for her household made of her parents and siblings. After obtaining her GED and working various jobs, she began to attend Texas Tech University, where she obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has worked with migrant farm workers (her family was once a migrant family), as a an adviser at South Plains College, and has participated in various community organizations.

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.

Ms. Benham was born and raised in Lufkin, Texas. She went to segregated schools in Lufkin before participating in integration during the 1969-1970 school year. She graduated high school and went to college at the University of North Texas. She then became a flight attendant and worked in retail. She returned to Lufkin and worked with her mother, Bettie Kennedy, in the community. In the interview, Ms. Benham describes segregation in Lufkin, experiences with discrimination, problems during integration, discrimination she experienced at UNT, her work as a flight attendant, her time spent in retail, and the work of both her and her mother in the community.

Mr. Figueroa recounted his role as a Robstown school board member during 1969 walkouts.

Herby Garza discussed career as a letter carrier in Corpus Christi and president of the Letter Carriers Union local.

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.

Rebecca talks about growing up in rural areas and in San Antonio, working in the fields, her time at Texas A&I, and her politicization at University of Michigan; she also talks about feminism; she also talks about her exclusion from the Chicano Movement to a certain degree because she worked full time;

Rebecca talks about growing up in rural areas and in San Antonio, working in the fields, her time at Texas A&I, and her politicization at University of Michigan; she also talks about feminism; she also talks about her exclusion from the Chicano Movement to a certain degree because she worked full time.

Gene Hartman talks about his life growing up in San Antonio; his father on the city council; a little bit about his time at UT-Austin; and his work as a developer.

Mr. Garcia discussed growing up in the Coastal Bend area and his career as a principal in Corpus Christi.

Tijerina-Taylor discussed growing up in Robstown and her career as a teacher.