OH 1481 | Oral History

OH 1481

Political activist. His involvement in the Mexican-American community of Fort Worth, Texas, 1970-2003. His family’s migration from Mexico to Texas in the 1920s; his youth in Galveston; his decision to quit school in the ninth grade; his earning a GED; business school at Galveston Business College and subsequent employment in the Galveston County tax assessor-collector’s office; his marriage; his being drafted into the Marine Corps, 1966; service in Vietnam for thirteen months; graduation from North Texas State University, 1971, with a degree in political science; the Chicano movement and involvement with student politics at NTSU; master’s degree studies at the University of Texas at Arlington in urban affairs; employment with the City of Fort Worth in the Planning Department; city manager internship, Weatherford, Texas, 1973-74; employment with the North Central Texas Council of Governments administering the Comprehensive Employment Training Act program, 1974-78; involvement with the Raza Unida party and the Ramsey Muñiz gubernatorial campaign; his founding and operation of the Northside Fort Worth newspaper El Reporter, 1976-78; his election to the Fort Worth School Board, 1978-84, and his role in instituting new programs for Northside High School; his successful campaign for county commissioner; his joining the Republican Party, 1991; community issues in the Northside area; his decision to become a public school teacher and administrator in the Arlington Independent School District; his becoming a born-again Christian; his activities with the Republican National Hispanic Assembly; the assistance of his wife in his political career.

About this Oral History

Physical Description 81 pp.
Terms of Use Open
Interviewer(s) Dulce Ivette Ray
Date of Interview March 11, 2003

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