Refusing to Forget

Abstract

Racial violence is a common topic in U.S. history, and lynching especially has drawn the attention of the general public. However, only in the last ten years has racial violence against Mexican-descent people in the United States garnered significant attention. A few years ago a team of historians, among them Monica Muñoz Martinez, Trinidad Gonzalez, Sonia Hernández, as well as the literary scholar John Morán Gonzáles, established the Web site Refusing to Forget about a particular era and place. The site focuses on a major period of violence against Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Texas from 1910 to 1920. The site is divided into three substantive parts: “History,” “Projects,” and “Resources.” The “History” section addresses the era. However, it needs to offer a little more post-1848 history to establish the era's ethnic subordination and provide broader context for the general public. It does mention the Mexican Revolution, the Plan de San Diego, and border militarization.