Confession time: I grew up in rural South Texas in the 60’s & 70’s. It was a time of demographic upheaval. When my small town became majority Hispanic it resulted in headlines in the nearest “big city” newspaper.
Downtown Kingsville,TexasPhoto byWikipedia
That was a big deal to the parents of my fellow Anglo & Mexican-American classmates alike – not so much to those of us attending their public schools. Ours was among the first generations there to widely socialize, date & marry regardless of ethnicity after decades of segregation by race and class in my hometown of Kingsville, Texas.
Dr. Billy F.Cowart – Founder & First President of Texas A&M University International (Laredo)Photo byTexas A&M University System
There were exemplars among the generations that preceded us:
My (Anglo) uncle – for example – used his Ph.D. to mentor first-generation Hispanic students at what was then “Texas A&I University” in Kingsville and went on to found what became Texas A&M International University in Laredo – one of the first Hispanic-majority universities in Texas. He will forever be one of my role models.