Oral history interview with Olga Gallegos, 1999 [videorecording].

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Oral history interview with Olga Gallegos, 1999 [videorecording].

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/351452359

Olga Gallegos begins by describing her work on the board of trustees for the Houston Independent School District (HISD). She discusses the problems of the bilingual education program, from the failure of the certification program to the difficulty in recruiting qualified candidates for teaching positions. She refers to new board members Gabriel Vásquez and Jeff Shadwick who were selected to review the bilingual program and notes the efforts of board president Laurie Bricker to lead the board to adopt a program to accelerate the learning of English rather than teaching in the student's first language. She assails African American board member Rod Paige for lack of support on the bilingual issue and talks about the Gulftown Area Neighborhood Association, a group of Hispanic immigrants addressing problems in their neighborhoods. She recalls her father's role in organizing the local League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 60 and his role in selling poll tax certificates to involve Mexican Americans in politics. She describes learning about the election process for Democratic Party convention delegates in her neighborhood, becoming a candidate for election under the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), and winning election as precinct chair. She recalls Felix Strata and her husband, Mario Gallegos, giving fire prevention tips on KLVL, the only Hispanic radio station in Houston at the time. She mentions working on the election campaigns of prominent Mexican Americans Lauro Cruz, Ben T. Reyes, Roman Martínez and Al Luna.

1 videocassette (VHS) (1 hr., 26 min.) : col. ; 1/2 in.Transcript : 33 p. ; 28 cm.

spa,

eng,

University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7369705

University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library

Related Entities

There are 20 Entities related to this resource.

University of Texas at Arlington. Center for Mexican American Studies

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63c6s61 (corporateBody)

Paige, Rod, 1933-

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Roderick Raynor Paige (born June 17, 1933) is an American educator and government official. He notably served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, moved from college football coach and classroom teacher to college dean and school superintendent to be the first African American to serve as the U.S. education chief. Born in Monticello, Mississippi, he earned a B.A. degree from Jackson State University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees fr...

Houston Independent School District (Tex.). Board of Education

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Mexican American Political Association (Tex.)

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Martínez, Román,

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Born 1958 in Cuero, Texas. Mr. Martínez was among the first group of Mexican American state representatives elected in Harris County. He was re-elected for five additional terms. Among his many legislative accomplishments was to obtain line item funding for the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston. From the description of Oral history interview with Román Martínez, 1998 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 50421997 ...

Democratic Party (Tex.)

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The Democratic Party in Texas has played an important role in the political history of Texas since its declaration of independence from Mexico in 1836. Settlers from the south and east brought an overwhelming allegiance to the Democratic Party, making it the only competitive political party in the state throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The party’s dominance in local, state, and federal government over an ineffective Republican party, resulted in both a great influence o...

Luna, Al.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60s987m (person)

Gallegos, Olga,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x393j2 (person)

Olga Gallegos was born Olga Ramírez in the Houston, Texas neighborhood of Magnolia Park in 1926. She was the first Mexican American woman to serve as president of the board of trustees for the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and has served as a delegate for the Democratic Party in Texas. At the time of the interview, she was still a member of the HISD board of trustees and a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. From the description...

Vasquez, Gabriel (Gabriel M.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pw0r03 (person)

Ramírez family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r87q33 (family)

Strata, Felix.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qc484r (person)

Reyes, Ben T.

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This collection spans 1970-1988, a period from when U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War wound down and ended in 1973, until just before the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. People of color were struggling to obtain the civil rights granted in legislation from a decade ago and to extend their political and economic power. Demands were being made for a greater voice in government and the business, employment and services government offered. Domestically there was politic...

Cruz, Lauro.

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Born on May 20, 1933 in Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Cruz is the first Mexican American state representative from Houston to the Texas Legislature. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Houston. From the description of Oral history interview with Lauro Cruz, 1998 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 50499586 ...

Gulftown Area Neighborhood Association.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fg0g5q (corporateBody)

League of United Latin American Citizens

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61g4rtb (corporateBody)

Organized in February of 1929 in Corpus Christi, TX. Composed mostly of Mexican-American citizens who believe that education is the foundation for the cultural growth and development for people of Latin American descent. Organization provides college scholarships, hot lunches for low-income and under privileged children, Christmas parties for under privileged and promotion of voter registration. From the description of Records, 1970-1989. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: ...

Bricker, Laurie.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sf71k4 (person)

Gallegos, Mario.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v73hzw (person)

Born September 8, 1950, Senator Gallegos was the first Mexican American to hold the position of state senator from Harris County, Texas. He was elected to the state senate in 1994, having previously served as state representative in 1990 and 1992. From the description of Oral history interview with Mario Gallegos, 1998 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 49834957 ...

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (U.S.)

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Shadwick, Jeff.

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Gutiérrez, José Angel,

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José Angel Gutierrez was born Oct. 25, 1944, in Crystal City, Texas. An activist, educator, organizer, and lawyer, Gutierrez co-founded the La Raza Unida Party and played many leadership roles in the early Chicano civil rights movement. He served as President of the Crystal City Independent School District Board in the early 1970s and as a County Judge for Zavala County, Tex. (1975-1980). In the 1980s, Gutierrez pursued a teaching career and moved to Oregon where he taught at Colegio Cesar Chav...