Civil rights institute taps leader with ‘corazón’
Historian hopes to put San Antonio in national spotlight for Mexican American work toward ‘equality for all’
SAN ANTONIO — Sarah Zenaida Gould, a historian, native Tejana and descendant of farmworkers, has been named executive director of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute after holding the position on an interim basis for just over a year.
For Gould, the appointment represents a realization that the vision of an institute thrusting San Antonio into a national spotlight for Mexican American civil rights history holds promise for the future, despite challenges posed by the pandemic.
“Now, by having a permanent executive director, we know that yes, we have an audience. We’re here for the long term. This is no longer an experiment,” she said.
Founded in 2019, the nonprofit institute has used a $500,000, two-year planning grant from the city to develop online programming and engage a following far beyond San Antonio. It estimates some 50,000 online viewers have seen its virtual panel discussions and other programs.
In observance of Labor Day this year, the institute is launching “Chispas” — “Sparks” — an online exhibit at somosmacri.org/chispas highlighting 40 civil rights trailblazers with ties to San Antonio.
Along with noted figures such as labor organizer Emma Tenayuca and U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez who was the first Mexican American elected to San Antonio City Council who later served in the Texas Legislature and in Congress, it will also feature lesser-known leaders. Those include Eleuterio Escobar Jr., who led appeals for better public schools for Hispanic students on the West Side, and Alonso Perales, a founding member of the League of United Latin American Citizens who became a major force in advocating for voting rights and opposing racial discrimination.
As president of the School Improvement League, Escobar fought in the 1930s and ’40s for improved facilities to prevent overcrowding and health and safety threats to children and amenities such as playgrounds and auditoriums.
“Escobar did a study and found that a lot of kids were not going to school because the schools were turning them away … The schools were just too small for the population,” Gould said.
The institute also is developing a digital archive to connect students, teachers, researchers and others with primary documents from libraries across the country, as well as the institute’s own sources.
“If you’re looking for things connected to voting rights or to school desegregation or housing, we’ll have those organized by category, so it’ll be easy to find,” Gould said. “Our goal is not necessarily to become the biggest physical repository, but rather to have the easiestto-access online portal.”
She’d like to have the institute temporarily using a local theater or another venue for panel discussions within the next year and soon hopes to be in a permanent home with engaging exhibits, programming and research.
Gould previously was founding director of the Museo del Westside, a community museum housed at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center’s historic Rinconcito de Esperanza, and was lead curatorial researcher at the Institute of Texan Cultures. While at the ITC, she guest-curated Bexar County’s tricentennial exhibit, “Nuestra Historia — Our History: Spain in Bexar County,” in 20152016.
“Dr. Sarah Gould is a recognized scholar and amazing leader who will bring an active voice and awareness to the Mexican American civil rights movement,” said Robert Garza, chair of the institute’s search committee.
Paul F. Ruiz, the institute’s board chair, said Gould brings “great intelligence and mucho corazón” in her role as director and “will lead the mission and vision of MACRI to educate and inspire through the history of Mexican American civil rights.”
Gould said many individuals have told her they’re grateful for “an acknowledgment of the work that people have done for generations to advance the country’s promise of equality for all.”
Gould also wants the institute to connect with civil rights progress achieved by other racial minority groups as part of an interwoven story of America. She’s hopeful that racial unrest that has surfaced during the pandemic will lead to more empathy and curiosity about other cultures.
“You cannot understand U.S. history without understanding all of the different parts that make up our nation,” she said.