Placido Salazar psalazar9@satx.rr.

com
The ostrich can hide its head in the sand, only for so long.. and so can the socalled conservatives? on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). As I have asked the numerous times I have testified there, Why are you so afraid that Texas and other Southwest U.S. students will read about the true history of this region? The facts are the facts and nothing or nobody can change that, no matter how much you try to close your eyes to reality. No more did Austin, Travis, Bowie and company discover this region, than Christopher Columbus discover anything, except the NATIVES who already lived in this country. Mexican-American Studies (MAS) approval was long overdue, but as I still maintain, OUR Founding Fathers history must be included in our childrens textbooks, along with the history of every other ethnic group not as separate/elective reading material. We have bravely and proudly served our country in every American war, side by side with every American soldier and we have the decorations for bravery to prove it, so why should our history must be together and the same as everybody elses history. HISTORY is not history, unless it is chronicled the way it actually happened, free of any current ideology.. in all its varied skin colors and the glory we all signify. America The Beautiful is beautiful, because of all its colors and what we all stand for. AND DONT YOU FORGET IT!!! Placido Salazar, USAF Retired Vietnam Veteran Veterans Legislation Liaison Dr. Hector P. Garcia American GI Forum Org of TX

Rio Grande Guardian > Border Education > Story

Lpez: The SBOE -- A Texas Stonewall

April 2014 By Jos Antonio Lpez

Last Updated: 27

Jos Antonio Lpez

SAN ANTONIO, April 27 - The Anglo Americans who came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin were not in the true sense pioneers; they found not a wilderness but a society already in existence These words were written by Historian John Francis Bannon in his book, The Spanish Frontier in America, 1513-1821. Author Bannon is referring to the unique Tejano mystique. Truly, Tejano society lured Anglos both legally and illegally to immigrate to Mexico; abandoning the U.S. to start life anew in Mxico. Nevertheless, those same U.S. immigrants betrayed their host country of Mxico shortly after arriving. They didnt like Mexican laws abolishing slavery, (in 1829, Mxico was the first country in America to do so). Thus, after 1836 Texas independence, the Anglos made a conscious decision to start writing Texas history on a clean slate. That is, they would pretend there was no existing society and that Texas was a wilderness. Albeit, their choosing to retain the name Texas (its Spanish name since 1691) exposes their obvious duplicity. Regardless, the Anglos built their Manifest Destiny-inspired myth on a literary stone wall hiding pre-1836 Texas (Tejano) history. Now, over 150 years later, The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) members act as modern-day sentries atop the stonewall of silence prohibiting Texas students from learning the true facts of their states founding. Just recently, grass-roots Texas citizens, parents, and educators appealed to the board to teach Texas students the seamless history of Texas through a Mexican American Studies (MAS) Program. The SBOE responded negatively. They disagreed to establish a MAS Program because even after 150 years, they ignore the real founding of Texas. In part, they claim among other things that We mustnt teach Mexicos history in America. There are at least three problems with their Anglophile position.

First, MAS is about teaching Texas history, not about todays Republic of Mexico. Southwest Mexican-descent citizens with pre-1848 ancestry number about 20 million. Thus, we descendants of the first citizens of Texas are not immigrants. That reality is what separates us from our sister Hispanic groups in the U.S. Thats the point that conservative SBOE members fail to comprehend. Second, Mexico is in America. The U.S. is not America. The U.S. is in America. There are 36 countries in America. Everyone born or living in the Continent of America (from Northern Canada to the tip of South Americas Tierra del Fuego) is an American. Third, our Spanish Mexican Tejano story doesnt fit the Sam Houston model. Thus, the SBOE wont accept Tejanos and Tejanas as the true founders of this great place we call Texas. On its own merits, the MAS program is all about education and only seeks to restore pre-1836 people, places, and events in the chronology of Texas history. The question is why is the SBOE so adamant in insisting Texas history begins in 1836? In my opinion, their intolerance toward Texas Mexican roots is caused by a persistent toxic political tone. That atmosphere is created by conservatives perception of anything Mexican only in terms of the current immigration reform and border fence contentious debates. A broader question is why should Mexican-descent Texans care about Mexico? Heres why. (l) The overwhelming majority of our Tejano families originate in Mexican population centers of Monterrey, Saltillo, Zacatecas, Queretaro, Monclova, and the surrounding ranchos of Central and Northern Mexico. Some of us still have active links with our family south of the Rio Grande; separated since 1848. In addition, being Mexican allows us to claim blood connections to our Native American roots. In this regard, the SBOE must be reminded that Texas is in New Spain (Old Mxico), not New England. As remedial training for SBOE members, I offer three quick lessons: (a) Texas was part of Mexico during the 1836 Battles of the lamo, La Bahia, and San Jacinto. (2) The three battles are part of the chronological chapter in Mexicos history, not the U.S. This was Mexican sovereign land until 1848. And (3) the tri-color flag of Mexico flew over Texas four times longer (21 years) than Sam Houstons Republic of Texas flag (five years). The reason that Houstons flag flew only five years is that so unprepared were the Anglos for total independence that they didnt even have a flag other than the Mexican Constitution Flag identical to the one many Anglos in Texas today repudiate. Curiously, they dont realize that their Anglo ancestors once pledged allegiance to the tri-color (verde, blanca, y colorada) Mexican Flag of Texas. The Republic of Texas flag was not approved until around 1840 when talk of Texas joining the U.S. as a slave state had already started. Heres a Texas history piln (bonus) for the Texas SBOE. Be advised that Texas was part of Mexico during the first Mexican Revolution of 1810. Accordingly,

September 16, 1810 (El Diecisis) is a legitimate holiday in Texas because it represents its first independence day. Pre-1836 people, places, and events are the essentials that make Texas history bi-cultural and bi-lingual. In conclusion, I address a most important point to the current Texas SBOE. The MAS is not about ethnic studies or multi-culturalism in Texas. Thats the responsibility of the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio. MAS is about rendering Texas history in a seamless manner from the arrival of the first European Spanish in 1519 to the present. Mexican-descent children in Texas must learn about their Spanish Mexican ancestors in the classroom; an honor that we were deprived of when we attended school. Were making progress. As an example I refer to the Tejano Monument. Its the first memorial in Austin honoring Texas Spanish Mexican founders. Its becoming a popular site, but it represents only the start of the Tejano Renaissance. We knew it wouldnt be easy to dismantle the 150-year old stone wall of silence. Echoing the words of President Ronald Reagan, Governor Perry, tear down this wall. Even so, our efforts are paying off. Its starting to crumble. So lets keep our Tejano trumpets blowing loud and clear until the stone wall falls. Yes, we can! (S se puede!)
Jos Joe Antonio Lpez was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and is a USAF Veteran. He now lives in Universal City, Texas. He is the author of two books: The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero), and Nights of Wailing, Days of Pain (Life in 1920s South Texas). Lopez is also the founder of the Tejano Learning Center, LLC, and www.tejanosunidos.org, a Web site dedicated to Spanish Mexican people and events in U.S. history that are mostly overlooked in mainstream history books.

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