Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on the History of the Border ed. by Sonia Hernández and John Morán González

Abstract

Reviewed by: Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on the History of the Border ed. by Sonia Hernández and John Morán González George T. Díaz Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on the History of the Border. Edited by Sonia Hernández and John Morán González. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2021. Pp. 310. Notes, index.) This excellent collection of essays examines the role of state-sponsored violence against ethnic Mexicans in Texas. In particular, Sonia Hernández and John Morán González consider Texas Ranger and vigilante attacks in the Rio Grande borderlands during the 1910s. While other books [End Page 326] have extensively examined the matanza (the killings of hundreds, possibly thousands, of ethnic Mexicans), this collection offers an interdisciplinary consideration of both the terror inflicted by state forces as well as the resilience of survivors. Reverberations of Racial Violence offers essays by historians, literary scholars, and social scientists as well as ethnographic and auto-ethnographic contributions by filmmakers and writers, all organized in three sections and fourteen chapters. Section I examines the matanza and contextualizes race relations and racial violence in Texas and the Southwest in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Essays in this section consider the volume’s direct connection to the efforts of scholarly activists involved in Refusing to Forget, a project that aims to “commemorate this violence and honor the struggles of those who resisted it” (27). Section II considers resistance and resilience, particularly by Mexican American journalists and by State Representative José Tomás Canales. While acknowledging Canales as one of the most prominent advocates for Mexican American rights, the essays also reveal his “naivete” (159). Although Canales succeeded in exposing Texas Ranger atrocities, these crimes meant little to lawmakers when the victims were people of color. Racism within the Texas government allowed the perpetrators to walk free and be reimagined as white-hat heroes in pulp fiction movies and bad history (172). Section III examines the aftermath of the matanza as survivors and their families tried to recover their family histories and reveal truths that challenge the dominant state narrative. Contributors’ recovery projects vary from accounts of scholarly investigation into the long-sealed Canales investigation to creative efforts such as documentary filmmaking and historical fiction. The book includes poetic interpretations as well, one told from the perspective of a Mexican man begging for his life. These creative works, drawn from family histories, help fill gaps in state accounts and beautifully bridge disciplinary divides to uncover long-veiled history. Few edited collections are as cohesive and substantive as Reverberations of Racial Violence. It is impossible to consider each essay in a short book review, but volume readers will have much to appreciate. The book balances to great effect hard examinations of state-sponsored violence while avoiding sensationalism. Collectively, the book presents tangible facts and detailed truths that will resonate with readers familiar with the matanza as well as those learning of it for the first time. The collection will work particularly well in Mexican American Studies courses and Texas history classes. [End Page 327] George T. Díaz University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association