Texas Southern University Professor Jesús Jesse Esparza will deliver a talk on his book Raza Schools: Fighting for Latino Educational Autonomy in a West Texas Borderlands Town. This work of history centers on San Felipe Independent School District in Del Rio, Texas which was managed and funded by a Latino community from 1929 to 1971. The work highlights early Mexican American activism before the Chicano movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. The topic of this talk will complement the content offered in our Mexican American History II and Mexican American Politics courses.

A student leader will introduce Dr. Esparza at the start of this event. After the introductions, Dr. Esparza will deliver a lecture on his work and the lessons we call pull from this study. After the presentation, the floor will be open for a Q&A session.

Click here for the book's press release

Event Details

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026
2:00 - 4:00 pm
CASA 110

Biography

Dr. Jesús Jesse Esparza is an Associate Professor of History at Texas Southern University in Houston. His expertise lies in the history of Latinos in the United States, with a special focus on civil rights activism. He authored Raza Schools: The Fight for Latino Educational Autonomy in a West Texas Borderlands Town (OU Press, 2023), which received three awards: the 2024 Outstanding Book Award from the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, the 2024 Tejas Foco Nonfiction Book Award from the National Association of Chicana and Chicanos Studies, and the 2025 Book of the Year Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. Dr. Esparza’s current project, a co-edited volume with Dr. Natalie Garza titled The Barrio and the Badge: Mexican Americans, the Houston Police Department, and the Politics of Resistance, 1900-2020, explores the intricate relationship between Houston’s Mexican American community and law enforcement. It is under an advanced contract with the University of Oklahoma Press. He earned his PhD from the University of Houston and has previously held academic roles at Houston Community College, Lone Star College, and Texas A&M University in College Station. He currently serves as the Interim Chair of the Department of History at TSU. Additionally, he is the Board President of the Texas Oral History Association and President of the Collective of Progressive Educators, a nonprofit organization dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and promoting U.S. Latino history.