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Maestas Case news, videos, lectures, corrido, art, publications,
legislative recognitions and the inclusion in Colorado's Academic Standards in Social Studies.
'Buried' Latino history: Colorado sculpture honors family's fight for school equity.
“This case lay dormant for a century, and it took some strong efforts by academics to bring it to light,” said Ron Maestas, a retired educator and descendant of the Maestas family. “To me, Francisco Maestas gives us a lesson in courage, a simple man standing up against inequity. He stood up for his kids, because he wanted safety and education for them.”
Alamosa Citizen: Maestas Case commemorated at Historic Zapata Park
Alittle park on the south end of Alamosa has been getting a lot of love and attention of late. The display comes through a collaboration with the Maestas Case Committee, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area and the city of Alamosa..
The Colorado State Senate: Maestas Case Resolution
Colorado Senate 2020 Legislative Day 048 - YouTube Minute Marker 30:39
Alamosa Citizen: Zapata Park to get a slight name change
little park with a rich history on the southside of Alamosa is set for a slight name change. The Alamosa Parks and Recreation Board is recommending to the city council that Alamosa modify the name of Zapata Park to Zapata Historic Park as a way to recognize the Francisco Maestas school desegregation case...
University of Colorado Boulder: ED TALKS: Dr. Rubén Donato and Judge Martín Gonzalez with performance by Dr. Antonio Esquibel.
Certain movements have become iconic symbols of civil rights movements — Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and the fight to end segregated schooling evoke images of young people like Ruby Bridges and The Little Rock Nine tearing down racial barriers.
Colorado Academic Standards:
The new Social Studies standards that the Colorado State Board of Education passed in 2022 include the Maestas Case.
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University of Colorado Boulder: Rubén Donato
Donato will explain how there were no state statutes that sanctioned the school segregation of Mexican Americans in America. Yet, it became common practice. Mexican American communities have been challenging school segregation for more than 100 years.
Texas State University: Gonzalo Guzmán
It took over a century for the case to be rediscovered. Which begs the question; what else don’t we know about the segregation...And what does this case mean for the larger American narrative about schools, race, racism, and justice?
Journal of Latinos and Education: Ruben Donato, Gonzalo Guzman and Jarrod
Hanson
The authors in this article argue that the Francisco Maestas et al vs. George H. Shone et al (1914) case is one of the earliest Mexican American challenges to school segregation in the United States. Unidentified for over a century, the lawsuit took place in southern Colorado, a region of the nation where Mexican Americans have deep historical roots.
The Colorado Magazine: Katie Dokson
Fall 2022 Issue-An Almost-Forgotten Fight for School Desegregation
"On November 9, 1866, shortly after the US Congress added the Valley to the recently created Colorado Territory, The Rocky Mountain News reflected many of the newcomers’ racist attitudes towards the Hispano settlements: “The counties of Conejos and Costilla are settled, principally, by New Mexicans, a mongrel race, half Spanish and half Indian.”
National Parks Magazine: Nicolas Brulliard
A major school desegregation victory in Colorado was all but forgotten. A century later, it’s getting its due. The school board denied discrimination accusations because Hispano children were officially considered “white,” but testimony contradicted that assertion, according to a newspaper account.
Colorado Voices RMPBS: Kate Perdoni
A corrido is a traditional way of popularizing a person or event through song. Here, historian and educator Antonio Esquibel of S.P.M.D.T.U. Concilio #7 in Denver sings the corrido he penned for the occasion of the statue commemoration at the Colorado State Capitol, “Corrido de Francisco Maestas.”
Rocky Mountain PBS: Katie Perdoni
Historic school desegregation decision honored at Colorado State Capitol (rmpbs.org)
Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area: Katie Dokson
Rocky Mountain PBS: Kate Perdoni
Colorado Voices RMPBS: Kate Perdoni
Hispano mutual aid society receives $1.4 million to restore historic building.
"In its early days, La Sociedad rallied and mobilized in the rail yards, mines, fields and schools. The group is listed in a local paper as showing financial support for the Maestas v. Shone, the region’s first successful school desegregation case taking place in Alamosa from 1912 to 1914. "
Adams State University: Judge Martín Gonzales & Atty. Ronnie Mondragon Jr.
Historic Maestas Case Presentation - YouTube
Video, minute marker 25:00
Colorado Social Studies Standards
The new Social Studies standards that the Colorado State Board of Education just passed included the reference to the Maestas case in High School Civics. Social Studies Academic Standards | CDE (state.co.us)
Story about the vote: https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/10/23452416/social-studies-standards-inclusive-pass-colorado-state-board-education-lgbtq-holocaust-race-ethnic
Genealogy
Masset/Mestas/Maestas Genealogy Report Compiled and edited by Dr. Ronald W. Maestas et. al.
San Luis Valley Resources
Learn about the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos
S.P.M.D.T.U. – Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (spmdtu.org)
Travel Stories App Guided Tour of Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic and Historic Byway
https://travelstorys.com/tours/los-caminos-antiguos
San Luis Valley Museums
Maestas V. Shone by Durae Naranjo
