Sánchez, George Isidore, 1906-1972

George I. Sánchez, writer, educator, and civil rights advocate, was born Jorge Isidoro Sánchez y Sánchez on October 4, 1906, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The son of Telésforo and Juliana Sánchez, he attended elementary and secondary public schools in New Mexico and worked as a school teacher, principal, and superintendent while earning his BA from the University of New Mexico (1930). Sánchez received his Master of Science degree in Educational Psychology and Spanish from the University of Texas in 1931, and his Doctor of Education degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1934. During his graduate studies Sánchez also served as Director of the Division of Information and Statistics in the New Mexico State Department of Education. Sánchez was married to Virginia Romero, with whom he had two children, in 1925, and to Luisa G. Guerrero in 1947.

In 1940 Sánchez moved to Texas where he would stay as professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Education and consultant in Latin American Education at the University of Texas until his death in 1972. A noted academic, activist, and prolific writer, Sánchez served as Asesor Técnico General of the Ministerio de Educación Nacional of Venezuela in 1937-1938, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) from 1941-1942, president of the Council on Education of Spanish-speaking People in the Southwest from 1945 to 1950, and director of the American Council of Spanish-speaking People from 1951 to 1959. He was closely involved with the Central Texas Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, John F. Kennedy's Citizens' Committee for a New Frontier Policy in the Americas, the Migrant Children's Fund, the National Council of Agricultural Life and Labor, the Texas Council on Human Relations, the United States Peace Corps, and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs among many other organizations. Sánchez also served as an expert witness in many legal cases regarding segregation in education, notably the Delgado v. Bastrop Independent School District case. He was the author of numerous articles, reviews, and monographs, and is most well known for his book Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans published in 1940.

George I. Sánchez died on April 5, 1972. Among many honors in his memory, the National Education Association sponsored the George I. Sánchez Memorial Award to recognize him as the "father of the movement for quality education for Mexican-Americans"; the United States Office of Education named a work section and a room in the new United States Office of Education Building for him; schools in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas, were named for him; and in 1995 the University of Texas rededicated its Education Building as the George I. Sánchez Building.

Writer and educator; advocate for educational and legal rights of Mexican Americans and other minorities in the United States.

Born Oct. 4, 1906, in Albuquerque, N.M. Teacher and administrator in rural New Mexico schools (1923-1930). Attended Univ. of N.M. (A.B. 1930), Univ. of Texas (M.S. 1931), and Univ. of Calif. (Ed. D. 1934). Taught at Univ. of N.M. (1938-1940) and Univ. of Texas (1940-1972). Worked as a researcher and educational consultant for numerous private and governmental agencies. Was active in many academic, political, and civil rights organizations. As a writer, Sánchez is best known for his Forgotten people (a study of New Mexicans of Spanish descent).