Fronteras: Mexican American Civil Rights Previous And Current Highlighted In Digital Symposium

MACRI Interim General Manager Sarah Zenaida Gould is a long-time public historian and museum associate. She sits on the board of the Latinos in Heritage Conservation and the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission, on the council of the American Association of State and Local History, and is an advisor to the National Trust of Historic Preservation.

The Mexican-American civil rights movement is one that is still going strong. Activists continue to fight for fairer access to education, voting rights, work, housing and health care.

The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute (MACRI) is based in San Antonio, where many pioneering activists have held their own, including Emma Tenayuca, Willie Velasquez, and Rosie Castro. MACRI will host a virtual symposium entitled “History of Courage / Valor For Change” to educate, educate and empower those who want to advance the work of civil rights activists.

MACRI Interim Executive Director Sarah Zenaida Gould, linking historical events with current civil rights issues, hopes the two-day event will spark discussions on how civil rights issues are not constrained by times past and continue to exist today.

“Right now, multiple states are impacting electoral access across the country, so this is an ongoing problem, especially for communities of color,” said Gould, who also shared concerns about the repercussions of ethnic studies in public school curricula. “These are things that people have struggled for years, to diversify history classes, to diversify the views you get as a student, and so that the civil rights movement isn’t over.”

The symposium includes several panels and guest speakers from around the country including Eduardo Díaz, interim director of the newly established Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino; and Senator Alex Padilla, the former California Secretary of State who was named to succeed Vice President Kamala Harris in the US Senate.

The virtual events will take place on August 13th and 14th. Participants can view the full panels and register for events at somosmacri.org.

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