US lacks its Mexican historical sites

Associated Press (ap.org); Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

A makeshift memorial to Hispanic Civil War Union soldiers who fought in the Battle of Glorieta Pass in Northern New Mexico outside Santa Fe. It's a typical representation for many sites linked to U.S. Latino history: It's shabby, largely unknown and always at risk of disappearing if it weren't for a handful of history aficionados. The lack of historical markers and preserved historical sites connected to Latino civil rights worries scholars who feel the scarcity is affecting how Americans see Hispanics in U.S. history.

 

US lacks Latinx historical sites and landmarks, scholars say

GLORIETA PASS, New Mexico - A makeshift memorial to "Hispanic" [largely Mexican] Civil War Union soldiers in an isolated part northern New Mexico is a typical representation of sites linked to U.S. "Latinx" history: It's shabby, largely unknown, and at risk of disappearing.

Across the U.S. many sites historically connected to key moments in "Latin" civil rights lie forgotten, decaying, or in danger of quietly dissolving into the past without acknowledgment. 

Scholars and advocates say a lack of preservation, resistance to recognition, and even natural disasters make it hard for sites to gain traction among the general public, which affects how Americans see Latinos in U.S. history.

 

The birthplace of farmworker union leader Cesar Chavez sits abandoned in Yuma, Arizona. The Corpus Christi, Texas, office of Dr. Hector P. Garcia, where the Mexican-American civil rights movement was sparked, is gone.

And no markers exist where pioneering educator George I. Sanchez captured images of New Mexico poverty for his 1940 groundbreaking book Forgotten People.

 

"People need to see history, they need to touch it, they need to feel it, they need to experience it," said Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, a journalism professor at the University of Texas who has worked to preserve Latinx historical sites. "When something is preserved, it's a daily reminder of our history."

 

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Many states have historical markers and sites dedicated to Latinx history but they usually center around the Spanish exploration [European exploitation] era, colonial times and Old West settlement periods, scholars and advocates say.

Those are "safe" sites because they downplay the racism and segregation Latinos had to overcome, said Luis Sandoval, a nonprofit consultant in Yuma who is pushing for the region to honor Chavez' legacy. More

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