Oral history interview with Antonio Bill, 1998 [videorecording].

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Oral history interview with Antonio Bill, 1998 [videorecording].

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49835005

The interview begins with Mr. Bill's family history and genealogy. Mr. Bill states that a primary reason he became involved in political life was his childhood memories of overt race discrimination against Mexican Americans in his hometown, Kerrville, Texas and the verbal racial slur indignities he had to endure in everyday life. Mr. Bill recounts his high school graduation and that out of the fifteen Mexican American students that graduated, he was the only one that went on to college. He talks about attending Ranger College and later Texas A & I University in Kingsville, Texas. Mr. Bill talks about some of the professors he had at Texas A & I such as Charles Cotrell who influenced him toward a direction of political involvement. He tells about becoming an elementary school teacher in Brownsville, Texas. Mr. Bill discusses his decision to move to Alice, Texas and run for the Alice school district board of education. He elaborates upon the problems associated with Mexican Americans in political life in Kerrville and states that due to their lack of numbers there, it was virtually impossible for Mexican Americans to get anywhere in politics at that time. His decision to move to Alice was due in part to the high percentage of Mexican Americans in their populations which allowed for a greater probablity of election. Mr. Bill discusses his involvement, with PASO, MAYO, La Raza Unida Party, and Involvement of Mexican Americans in Gainful Endeavors (IMAGE), a social concerns organization based in San Antonio. He discusses details of campaign financing and management and the significance of his failed elections which even though not elected helped him to build a reputation that would hlep him in later political endeavors.

2 videocassettes (VHS) (2 hr., 56 min.) : col. ; 1/2 in.Transcript : 57 p. ; 28 cm.

eng,

spa,

University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7614454

University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library

Related Entities

There are 11 Entities related to this resource.

University of Texas at Arlington. Center for Mexican American Studies

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

Ranger College

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cc7kvx (corporateBody)

Cotrell, Charles

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pz7shk (person)

Dr. Cotrell was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1940, and is the President of St. Mary's University in San Antonio. He was professor to many Chicano activists of the late 1960s at Texas A & I and St. Mary's universities. Dr. Cotrell was an active participant in many civil rights causes, such as La Casita Farms strike, and mentor to youth in the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO). He was a founder of the Mexican American Unity Council in San Antonio and became an expert witness in many...

Raza Unida Party (Tex.)

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The Raza Unida Party (RUP) was first established as a third political party in Crystal City, Texas, in January, 1970. As an alternative to the two-party system in Texas, Raza Unida sought social, economic, and political self-determination for Chicanos, other minorities, and the disenfranchised through local and, later, state politics. At its start, the party organized around county, local, and school district elections in south Texas; winning city council elections in Cotulla, Carri...

MAYO (Organization)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kw9rsw (corporateBody)

Gutiérrez, José Angel,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62r404b (person)

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...

Texas A & I University.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6np8qqr (corporateBody)

Bill, Antonio,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wm5ccg (person)

Born December 22, 1943 in Kerrville, Texas. Mr. Bill is a Member of the Alice Independent School District Board of Trustees and is a community activist in Kingsville and Alice, Texas. From the description of Oral history interview with Antonio Bill, 1998 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 49835005 ...

Involvement of Mexican Americans in Gainful Endeavors (San Antonio, Tex.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62c5hw0 (corporateBody)

Bill family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6386hx3 (family)

Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nw64mp (corporateBody)