Projects

Oral Histories

Passing down stories from generation to generation is the oldest form of historical recordkeeping. With today’s technology we are able to capture and share those stories is a digital format.

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History is a public programming initiative designed to generate awareness and preserve the history of Latino Americans in Fort Worth. Students from Texas Christian University’s Civil Rights in Black and Brown project, with support from the City of Fort Worth Human Relations grant, interviewed 42 participants for the project and for the Mujeres Poderosas (Strong Women) portion of the Latino Americans: 500 Years of History. Some of the participants donated materials to the Fort Worth Library Archives, and others allowed the library to digitize items. These materials, along with existing archival collections of Latino Americans, form the Latino American Archives in the Fort Worth Public Library’s Genealogy, Local History, and Archives unit.

Pauline and Louis, A Film by Richard J. Gonzales

Stream Richard J. Gonzales’ film showcasing the life and activism of Pauline Gasca Valenciano. View behind the scene photographs from the filming taken by Emerico Perez.

La Raza Unida in North Texas

As part of the 2021 National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) Tejas Foco, three leading figures who were integral parts of the Tarrant County chapter of La Raza Unida agreed to discuss their history with La Raza Unida in the 1970s while also providing historical context, biographical information, and perspectives on the Chican@ experience over the past fifty years. Dr. Peter Martinez moderated this roundtable that included Jose Gonzales, Lee Saldivar, and Eva Bonilla.

¡Viva Mi Historia!

Viva Mi Historia! – The Story of Fort Worth Latino Families was coordinated by the Civil Rights in Black and Brown Oral History Project (CRBB) housed at TCU, with the support of the City of Fort Worth Human Relations grant. Under the direction of Dr. Max Krochmal, a team of graduate students conducted over forty new interviews with local Latinos during two oral history collection days in September and October, 2015.

The Trail of the Mexican American Experience in Fort Worth

Created by Arturo Martinez using numerous visual resources from the Fort Worth Public Library and based on Dr. Peter Martinez’s research, this pop-up exhibit demonstrates the deep history of Mexican American’s in Fort Worth. The exhibit of 6 columns (12 panels) showcases the Mexican American experience from 1900 to 1950. Each pillar chronicles key moments that shaped the experiences of Mexican immigrants and highlights their journey from newly arrived laborers, through the building of their communities, and to permanent and active members of the city.

Generaciones, Expressions of Brown Identity in Fort Worth: Gilbert C. Garcia, 1900-1990

This virtual exhibit showcases three generations of brown identity in Fort Worth from the early 1900s through the 1990s by highlighting the life and activism of Gilbert C. Garcia. The focus is to examine the manifestations of the Mexicanist or Immigrant, Mexican American, and Chicano Generations in Fort Worth, along with the various ways these evolving identities and their relationships with the white majority, led to reform in the city. Fort Worth’s historical narrative has far too long ignored the Mexicanos who have lived in and helped build its infrastructure and growing economy since the late nineteenth century. The city’s boosters in the early twentieth century created a monolithic picture of Fort Worth as a city of cattle and white cowboys—”Where the West Begins”—and successfully erased the history of a multiethnic presence. Our work here demonstrates the long history of Mexicanos in Fort Worth and shifts the perspective of the city’s history from that monolithic picture to the experiences of Mexicanos. Through this new lens, Garcia’s efforts to breakdown racial barriers, ensure the city leadership heard his community’s needs, establish political representation, and unify young and older activists, moves from the margins to its proper central place in the historical narrative of Fort Worth.