City of Santa Clara
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CENTRAL: Talk with Dr. Jesus Jesse Esparza - Author of Raza Schools
- Date: 07/25/2024 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
- Location: Central Park Library - Edinger Room
2635 Homestead Road
Santa Clara, California 95051
Join us on July 25th, 2024 at 25:30 p.m. at the Central Park Library as author Dr. Jesús Jesse Esparza discusses his new book Raza Schools: The Fight for Latino Educational Autonomy in a West Texas Borderlands Town.
In 1929, a Latino community in the borderlands city of Del Rio, Texas, established the first and perhaps only autonomous Mexican American school district in Texas history. How it did so—against a background of institutional racism, poverty, and segregation—is the story Jesús Jesse Esparza tells in Raza Schools, a history of the rise and fall of the San Felipe Independent School District from the end of World War I through the post–civil rights era.
After a presentation and lively discussion about his book, there will be a short book signing event. Participants will be able to purchase books at the event.
About Dr. Esparza:
Dr. Jesús Jesse Esparza is an Associate Professor of History in the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences at Texas Southern University, where he has taught since 2009. His area of expertise is on the history of Latinos in the United States, emphasizing civil rights activism. Dr. Esparza teaches Mexican American, Texas, and Civil Rights history. He received his B.A. and a master’s degree in history from Southwest Texas State University and a Ph.D. in History in 2008 from the University of Houston.