This 2017 episode covers Hernandez v. Texas, which addressed civil rights for Mexican Americans, was the first case to be argued before the Supreme Court by Mexican American attorneys, and set a new precedent in how the 14th Amendment was interpreted in terms of race and ethnicity.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This episode is brought to you by city, millions of vulnerable Americans struggle to get reliable transportation to their medical appointments. That's why Erica play VA, started Med Hall and City lunch, the city in Pacsun to invest in companies,
like MAD Hall, which are developing solutions to help address some of society's most pressing challenges for the law.
of community. For the love of progress, learn more about the city impact fund at city, dot, com, slash impact fund,
see. I t I dot com, slash impact fund. My name is
the nobles- and I am the host of a new podcast called close to the chest. With Christian and Christine I've been chronically ill.
over twenty years and a doctor told me she believed that my breasts
plans for causing an auto immune disease that was attacking my body. That is when I learned about breast implant illness. This disease is not my fault. I am not going to allow b I to define who I am listened too close to the chest. With Christian and Christine ever,
Wednesday on the Iheart Radio, app apple pie cast or wherever you get your podcast really coffee table for is a brand new podcast with me Ruthie mergers. Each week I invite especial gas such as Poland,
to discuss their food memories. German, like a child to Paris,
we saw all we're gonna have a wine experience were in France. We took a ship until it is terrible. It's like vinegar, listen, terrific
a table for on the heard radio on Apple pie, task or wherever you get your protest
Happy Saturday, everybody coming up soon on the show we haven't episode that touches on the history of a university that was originally established for white students. Only at the time, though you s, society was largely conceived as having two races: black and white, so students from other racial and
Ethnic groups were included at least to some extent earlier on, but were classed as quite while black students were specifically excluded. We have talked about the expanding and evolving definition.
Of racial and ethnic classification. In the U S, including changes to how the fourteenth amendment to the constitution has been interpreted a few times on the show, and one of those is our episode on her aunt S, verses Texas, which originally came out on September. Twenty seven twenty seventeen. So we are bringing back out a city Saturday, classic to give you some more context for that forthcoming episode. And yes, something that comes up in this episode. I do still hope at some point to do an episode on the job
I bill- welcome to stuff you missed in history class, a production of Iheart radio and welcomed the podcast. I am Tracy. We will say that I am highly fine. It's been a while
a Supreme court case on the show as a guest and get the right of any that's, become a theme sort of unknown, at least in terms of yours. In my time on the show how you ve had several Supreme Court episodes that I think the last one that we had was one of the goofy or ones, because we talked about butter, verses.
And yet this is not a goofy or went today. We are talking about an end as verses Texas, which got a brief comment.
In an hour passed up suit on mercury of our seas, and that was the first mexican immigrants to the United States to earn the medal of Honor and at a time
in the time directly to civil rights for Mexican Americans Hernandez versions. Texas was also the first case to be argued before the Supreme Court by mexican american attorneys and set off a whole new president and how the fourteenth amendment to the constitution was interpreted in terms of race and ethnic
a lot of stuff it we're talking about today, generally applied more broadly to pretty much everybody of hispanic or latino descent bit specifically
People that we are talking about are our mexican Americans. So the other thing is this was decided it right before Brown Verses Board like a week or two before the decision came down
in brown, verses bored. So in a lot of ways, it was completely overshadowed by that way. More famous decision, although
It was really important in its own way and Hernandez versus Texas
I am with the motor and the facts, it I'm
there were really not in dispute on August Forest nineteen, fifty one
Pedro Hernandez, who went by PETE, got into it
argument with Gaetano Espinosa. There was known as Joe at chink.
Sanchez, as tavern in Edna Texas Edna is southwest of Houston and South EAST of San Antonio and sits roughly between those two cities. It's not clear exactly what started to this argument, but according to witness
at some point. Espinosa started making fun of Hernandez because he had a club foot and her name,
If the bar he walked home, got a rifle, came back and shot Espinosa in the chest in front of witnesses. Espinosa died not long after eat in the hospital and less than twenty four hours.
Where the crime Hernandez was indicted for murder. Four days later, he was denied bail,
Hernandez, his mother went to Gustavo Garcia known as Gus for help in Garcia was a
when at civil rights lawyer and San Antonio, he served
a legal adviser to the League of United, latin american citizens or Lou lack, which was the
civil Rights Organization for Mexican Americans in the United States, and he served in them
same capacity for the american Gee, I forum, which was formed in the wake of world war, two to help mexican amount
can veterans get access to the benefits they were entitled to under the g I bill of rights, I kind of what to do in episode at some point about the g. I bill.
yet as the language in the bill
have anything related to race or ethnicity in it. But the way it was asked
fully implemented. It was a lot easier for white returning veterans said, get access to the benefits that were involved than pretty much anyone else, so that has really complicated history in terms of
how and who it allowed to get access to things like education and binding homes, and things like that. So by
time he agreed to represent PETE Hernandez Garcia had been involved with some of the biggest social rights cases for Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Texas. They had worked.
the legal advocates for migrant workers and the research programme, which we ve talked about on the show before he had also been part of it.
In Delgado Verses Bell, Strap Independent school district, the nineteen forty eight no got oversees bell, strap followed the California case of Mendez Verses Westminster, which we ve also talked about. I'm a show and it made segregation of mexican american schoolchildren illegal in the state of Texas,
the exception of like first graters, who genuinely needed some more english language instruction before they joined classes, are being taught in English, Garcia,
had also represented the family of Felix Long Gloria, who was killed in action in world war. Two when longer
his body was returned home to Texas. The only funeral home in his home town of three rivers refuse to allow its chapel to be used for the service because
in the directors, words quote, the whites would not like it
after them, Senator linen, be Johnson got involved. Long Korea was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
joining Garcia and the defence team was Carlos Cadenza two's. Prior civil rights work included, challenging restrictive covenants that were keeping Mexican Americans from being able to buy landed sentence home
Garcia was known as an incredibly eloquent and charismatic speaker and
I don't know how to head for numbers and statistics. So when they work together as a legal team, typically Garcia would be the one who argued the case in court and cut Anna meticulously assent
hold all the research and the information that was needed to make that argument court also
The team or John Jay Herrera known as Johnny and James Diana who practice together in Houston and hurry, rang Garcia, already knew one another and they had actually worked together on Delgado Versus Blast Europe. So there,
reason this seemingly straightforward, small town murder
trial required a team of four attorneys, including some of the most well known civil rights lawyers working in Texas at the time that it was not just the same
we'll criminal matter
but were you not another case together in Fort Ben County Johnny Herrera
Idly wondered to James stand a why he had never seen a mexican person on a jury there and then, when they looked into it further, they realize
that there had been no one of mexican descent on a forbidden county jury and more than thirty five years. The same pattern was true in Jackson, County, where Hernandez was going to be tried
However, I was not the first person to make this observation.
All. Anglo juries had come up at least seven times in Texas Court, since nineteen thirty one there hasn't been a mixed
in person on a jury or to be more specific. Anyone who had a recognizably, mexican or latin American surname in twenty four
Five years in at least seventy Texas counties. Every attempt to address that disparity.
Been met with the same legal response from the state. Indeed,
Those words quote well Mexicans
caucasians and there were caucasians on the jury. So what are you from
about arrears
The end of client and a pseudo Sanchez had been found guilty of murder.
Era. In the end, I had appealed the conviction on the grounds that Sanchez had been discriminated against by the existence of this all white jury. But the Texas Court of Appeals upheld the conviction making that same argument as a Mexican Sanchez was white and the jury was white, so there was no discrimination.
a point the team was out of funds. Sanctions was really reluctant to pursue the case any further as well. He was afraid that he would get a harsher sentence if his conviction was overturned and he had to be retried
Mexicans are white argument, stretched back to the treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican.
American war in eighteen, forty eight and the
ended with Mexico, see being a huge amount of territory, much of it, inhabited by both Mexicans and indigenous people to the United States. In article eight, the treaty gave Mexicans living in United States territory. A choice. To quote the treaty quote those who shall prefer to remain in the said territory of my either retain the title and rights of mexican citizens or acquire
Those of citizens of the United States, but they shall be under the obligation to make their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratification of this treaty and the
we shall remain in the said territories after the expiration of that year, without having declared their intention to retain the character of Mexicans, shall be considered to have elected, to become citizens of
United States. The treaty went on to recognise the property. Rights of Mexicans am to state that
who became american would be quote admitted at the proper time to the enjoy.
Of all the rights of citizens of the United States according to the principles of the constitution.
and, in the meantime, shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property and secured in the
the exercise of their religion without restriction. Of course, this is just one aspect of this whole treaty and is also important to note that Mexico had given its indigenous population the rights of citizens ship, but those rights
essentially ignored once the territory they ve been living and became part of the United States. So, even though, in theory, if you had mexican citizenship before you were supposed to have american citizenship, now that citizenship was denied the indigenous population that was living in former mexican territory and for the mexican citizens of spanish descent
in that year was up after the ratification of the treaty of Guadeloupe aid Argo. Unless they had specifically said they were retaining mexican citizenship. They were to be considered american citizens,
and all of this together meant that from a legal perspective, they were white and we'll get to help them
He built a legal defence around all of this after we first pause and have a little bit of a sponsor break. This episode is brought to you by city
millions of vulnerable american struggle to get reliable transportation to their medical appointments. That's why Erika Ply Ba started Med Hall. She helps,
Bull in often overlooked populations get to their appointments and get back to health city launch the
two hundred million dollar city impact fund to investing companies like Med Hall, which are developing solutions to help address some of society's most pressing challenges? The city impact fund is also actively seeking to invest in businesses owned by both women. An entrepreneur.
of color by aiming to reduce inequalities in access to funding their helping more people realise their visions for the love of community for the love of progress
learn more about the city impact fund at city, dot, com, slash impact, fun that see eye to eye dot com, Slash impact fund.
Finding it difficult to collaborate outside of a traditional office. Are your car
tools in your workspace, not cutting it, for you need a platform that organised
all. The creative intricacies of your mind into one space, Miro
the collaborative online white boarding platform created to help people visualize discuss in sheer work. Just like the one
boarded hangs in your office. Miro acts like a blank slate where you and your team or friends can work play or something between you can write, draw use videos.
Sticky notes, diagrams or audio to conceptualize. Your vision. Miro is
reading a revolution in how we create and collaborate said, join you
twenty million users. Today you can sign
then use Miro today for free go to Miro. That's em.
r o dot com. Slash create to start your free account sign up today,
take advantage of three free whiteboard with its exclusive offer: gotta Miro EM,
r, o dot com, slash, create and start using Miro. Today there is no
reason to delay. I asked what kind of family she wanted. She said a family like yours, learn more about adopting a teen it adopt. Yours gets done work, you can imagine the reward
Lord brought you by the? U S: Department of Health, inhuman services adopt, you have kids and the ad council
throughout the murder. Trial of Beet Hernandez legal team tried to establish that the absence of Mexicans on a jury was discriminatory. Their first effort in doing this was on October. Fourth, nineteen. Fifty
one when Garcia Gonna try to question
original indictment, because that indictment had been delivered by an all Anglo grand jury. As expected, no one was surprised by this. The court refused and the trial began as planned on active,
Ape and all Anglo Jerry was selected and Wednesday
was done. The legal team file emotion to clash in the hearing them
load. They spent a lot of time trying to establish that regard
so whether they were legally considered, white Mexicans were treated as a class apart. The team noted
like restaurants, that posted no Mexicans signs and the recently ended school segregation, and they ask
number of witnesses things Lake would you ever
a german man in a white man. How about an
a man in a white man. How about a mexican and a white man
and even though the resulting answers provided solid evidence that mexican residents of Jackson County were treated differently from anglo residents
The motion was ultimately denied. I learned to really fascinating things while reading through all of this quest
the king during the hearing to quash the jury,
and one of them was that at the time a lot more people use the word
American rather than Mexican, because people I mean allotted for reasons the preferred language to talk about stuff changes
more time, and then right abnormal, like that's expected part of it, was that people were kind of concerned that if you said
the care that you might actually mean a mexican national living in Mexico right now, rather than a person of mexican decent living in the United States,
and the other one was that apparently, people still considered bohemian to be a recognisable like Nick Classroom,
and so some of the questions were like. Would you say? Oh look, there's a bohemian in a white man and people were like. No, of course not. That's weird like
but never thing I've even thought of, but I mean to be clear in case: it's not obvious
keyboard were like. No, I wouldn't say a german man in a white man. Those are both white. When people say what would you say, a Mexican and a white man will ya like they built that case over a lot of questions, but in spite of that, they did not quash the jury after
Jerry Selection and all those pretrial motions that charges against bananas were read at one fifteen p m on October, eleventh, the jury went to deliberations that forth
thirty in the afternoon and by eight p m, that same night they had reached a verdict. Hernandez was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Hurry Indiana had already tried to make a discrimination argument in their appeal of embassy. Toe Sanchez is murder conviction, so the team started with that brief as
Foundation for their appeal of her mind as his conviction. They drew parallels to the systemic exclusion of black jurors, which this
Supreme Court had already found violated the constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.
and they also drew parallels too how Mexicans were treated quite differently from people of other nationalities who
really were considered to be White Cardona, who crafted alot of the brief, also made the point that, in his words, quote about the only time that so called Mexicans. Many of them Texans for seven generations, are covered with the caucasian cloak as when it serve the ends of those who would shamelessly deny this large segment of the Texas population, their fundamental rights so basically nobody's really calling us white until it
to them to be like all you're not being discriminated against, because your white you're different until we have to defend ourselves and then you're, just like us Hernandez this case was brought before the Texas Court of criminal appeals on November twenty first
nineteen fifty one with the team, arguing that the lower court had aired in denying the motions to quash both the grand and petty juries, the Texas Court of it
You've disagreed and affirmed that conviction on June 18th, one thousand nine hundred and fifty two and the appeals court's decision noted that the 14Th amendment's equal protection clause applied to two classes. Only quote the y.
Race comprising one class and the Negro race comprising the other class. The appeals court also repeated part of the decision that had get it had given in the Sanchez case quote,
mexican people are not a separate race but white people of spanish dissent. That went on to specify quote in contemplation of the Fourteenth Amendment
Mexicans are therefore members of and within the classification of the white race as distinguished for members of the Negro race, the team.
Tried to bring the jury selection issue back to the court of appeals on October twenty second, but the court declined to hear it so frontier their next step would be to take this case to the United States supreme
court? And although this had always been their goal, they recognise that it was an incredibly risky decision to try it. On a personal level. It was risky for PETE Hernandez. He had been found guilty of murder and sense to life in prison, and if the Supreme Court overturned his conviction, he would need to be retried
like we said it was clear that he had committed this crime and if he was retried, he could potentially be sentenced to death going to the Supreme Court carried other risks as well.
We did not find in Hernandez is favour. It would probably take at least a generation for another similar case to be heard. That meant that
for a generation Mexican Americans in many Texas counties would continue to face juries composed only of Anglos and
The whole issue was tied to whether Mexicans were wide. There were plenty,
Imagine scenarios and consequences. Should the court decide that no, they were not. This risk was compounded by the fact that Peat Hernandez his case was not particularly likely to elicit the court sympathy at the same time as Hernandez as examples of cases or
being heard in Texas, civil rights cases involving black Americans or playing out elsewhere in the United States as well. These were often
act by national organizations like the end, W C p, with experienced civil rights lawyers who were carefully selecting cases whose defendants were likely to be sympathetic and regarded by white justices as respectable and worthy of compassion like this has come up in a
past episodes like the Mildred and Richard loving were sympathetic people because they were a couple who loved each other and wanted to live together in Virginia and Rosa Parks was sympathetic because she had a job and was like tat, but we had a reputation for being a kind person who went to church. All of these things were part of deciding whose case would be presented to this.
in court. This was not the case with PETE Hernandez. He had murdered someone after a fight in front of witnesses. At the same time, a Supreme Court case seemed like an opportunity
to try to right some of the wrongs within the court system. So the team filed their petition for
rid of sir: she, the with the Supreme Court on January twenty first nineteen fifty three. This is the document that formally ask
a higher court to review the lower court's decision, and this was a day
ass the deadline and typewritten when the Supreme Court's rule stated that they must be professionally printed, but the court agreed to hear the case.
Anyway and October, twelfth nineteen fifty three it was scheduled for the next session,
people were really worried that the fact that they turned it in a daily and typewritten instead of professionally printed, was like an indicator of bad things to come.
arguing a case before the Supreme Court is expensive to be allowed
do it at all. Attorneys have to apply for and be granted admission to the Supreme Court bar. This requires sponsorship from people who have are
had he been admitted to the Supreme Court bar. So, in addition to the application feed
team, none of whom had ever argued before the Supreme Court before had to find other attorneys who were already approved to sponsor them and then pay a fee to apply. There are also filing fees for the case itself and the team arguing the case is responsible for paying for all the pre the briefs to be print.
along with travel to Washington, DC and food and lodging while there, and especially in the cases of attorneys, who have private practices, the disruption
of their businesses an income while they're gone. Her name is
We did not have a lot of money. They were basically a collection of local Texas lawyers, whose own practices and incomes as Tracy just suggested, were going to suffer
while they were away so the robber
shall civil liberties Trust contributed five thousand dollars to the cost of the proceedings.
Local Lula chapters made donations as well. The rest of their budget was filled in
Small donations from other civic organisations and even individual people, there are interviews with some of the facts that were involved in all of this. He would talk about people who just really did not have any money coming up to them on the street and like handing them a dollar and being like. Please use this to help pay for the case
because their budget was so tight. They eventually decided that not all of them would go to Washington, DC, Garcia, Cadena
Rarer would all go to Washington wildly and stay behind and Texas, both to try to save money on all of their costs and also to try to keep all of their law. Businesses functioning well
the rest of them were away.
Money became one of the sources of tension for the team once they actually got to Washington. Garcia
somewhat of a showman and had a flamboyant personality and he hired a publicist and reserved a hotel sweet that the rest of the team thought was beyond their budget
It wasn't just about luxury, though at that point, the industry
C, p and other organisations fighting for equal rights for black Americans were now
organizations with better funding and much better name recognition. Brown
his board was National NEWS and Garcia really wanted a similar national structure and recognition
four Mexican Americans lead
up to their arguments before the Supreme Court. Garcia himself also became a source of tension as well. He struggled with alcoholism and the day before they were.
Argue he vanished from the hotel and finally returned very late and heavily intoxicated the rest of the team, while trying to sober him up started to worry that the whole thing was gonna fall apart and after we take another quick break, we will talk about the Supreme Court argument and what happened afterward
completing high school is more of a social thing, but it wasn't academic. Even all these years had passed. I still had that longing to have my department at each thirty Teresa finished. Her high school diploma
if you're, even considering getting your nose, but among you can do it, no one gets
diploma alone. If you are thinking of finishing your high school diploma, you have held free adult education classes near you finish: your diploma dot, org. That's finish your diploma
Org Brodie by the dollar, General Literacy Foundation and the council, there is a reason, podcast or popping up everywhere. Podcast can make you money and Springer is the easiest way to start a podcast. You could literally record your first episode today. Speaker has all the tools you need to record edit, publish and yeah monetize your podcast all in one place and its free, so tell your story and make money, while doing it start your podcast for free now at speaker, dotcom slash, make money. That's s
You are a k, e r dotcom slash make money from the hard part gas network, hey dad, how do airplanes? Why what's in this box? Is this J good proclaiming Davies? What is this thing? Did kids are curious about everything, including guns talking to them about gun safety in your home is a good first step, but you can do more always keep your guns, locked, unloaded and stored separately from ammunition. Safeguard storage saves lives, learn how to make your own safer. It end family fired on,
That's an family fire dot, Org brought you buy an family fire Brady any council banana present. The state of Texas was argued before the United States Supreme Court on January, eleventh, nineteen. Fifty four. The question before the court was is the equal protection of the law clause of the Fourteenth amendment violated when a state tries a person of a particular race or ancestry before a jury in which all persons of that race or ancestry
have been excluded from serving the team strategy was twofold: they would establish them
Ex conjurors, specifically those with spanish surnames, were being systematically intentionally excluded from jury.
he's in Jackson, County Texas, including in the trial of Peat Hernandez, and they would also established that the
inclusion from jury service was part of an overall pattern of discrimination against Mexican Americans. Treating them as a class apart from white citizens, establish saying that Mexican Americans were excluded from Jerry's is easy enough. They had plenty of documentation that almost fifteen percent of the counties pot
Leysen had mexican or latin american surnames, including eleven percent of the man over aged twenty one about six or seven percent of the free holders, and the tax rolls were of mexican dissent as well. Yet, in spite of all of that, zero people with mexican or latin american surnames had served on a jacks
county jury in twenty five years. They also had pull any of evidence of Mexican Americans in Jackson, county not being treated as white.
The decision in Delgado versus blast trope in September, nineteen, forty nine mexican children in Texas
had not been allowed to attend school with white children. There was
least one restaurant, with a posted sign, the Mexicans would not be served along with signs. That said, quote no, Chile, which meant exactly the same thing, but the most compelling piece of evidence of discrimination against against Mexican Americans. That was
presented before the Supreme Court came from Johnny Herrera his own experience and had also been part of that first motion to quash the jury internet as his original trial
During that original trial and Jackson, county Pereira had gone to the restroom. He had found that there were two bathrooms one of
was unmarked when the other was labeled colored men and under that always ip or men here
Meanwhile, the state of Texas argued that the lack of mexican and latin american surnames among jurors was just a coincidence.
The Mexicans were wide, so the fourteenth,
but did not apply.
in other words, at the court house, where the Texas legal system was arguing that Mexicans were white. There were segregated rest.
Rooms. One unmarked, and only
white men,
the other marked for black and mexican men Garcia. We who, as we said, had come
back to the hotel really late and heavily intoxicated was pretty quiet during the earlier part of the oral arguments. But after some of the justices ass to Syria,
of questions along the lines of whether Mexican Americans or citizens, and whether they could speak English, you kind of revived, he started an incredibly eloquent
legal argument that combined the histories of Mexico and the United States, including the fact that man
of the families who were being affected by the systemic jury. Exclusion had been in taxes for generations before SAM use than even showed up there. That was, unfortunately, the transcript of this does not seem to
exist anywhere anymore, but it was such a compelling, listen that when his time was up chief justice, Earl WAR and told him to continue and allowed him to talk for twelve more minutes, the Supreme Court
issued its unanimous decision on May Third nineteen fifty four by
being denied a jury of his peers, including Mexican Americans, PETE Hernandez,
had been denied fourteenth amendment protections?
denial was unconstitutional. As part of Earl warrants. Majority opinion he wrote quote throughout our history: differences and race and color have
find easily identifiable groups which have at times required the aid of the courts in securing equal treatment under the laws. But community prejudices are not static and from time to time, other differences from the community norm may define other groups which need the same protection. Whether such a group exists within a community is a question of fact. When this existence
of a distinct class has demonstrated that it is further shown that the laws as written or as applied single out that class for different treatment, not based on some reasonable classification, the guarantees of the constitution, have been violated. The fourteenth amendment is not directed solely against discrimination due to a two class theory that is based on differences between white and negro. He asked
going on to say quote, but it taxes are, could unity to say that mere chance resulted in there being no members of this class among the over six thousand jurors called in the past twenty five years. The result, the spy
discrimination whether or not it was a conscious decision on the part,
of any individual jury. Commissioner, with these Supreme Court having issued its decision, the Texas Department of Corrections was no
five better Nand, as would be remanded for a retrial on May seventh. Nineteen. Fifty four members, four days after the decision was announced, he was real
indicted on September, twenty eight nineteen, fifty four and the trial was moved to another county after it was a successful petition for a change of venue
Garcia argued the new trial, which was held on November, fifteenth and included to Mexican Americans among the jury Hernandez with
and found guilty, and this time sentenced to twenty years in prison,
He was recommended for parole on June seventh, nineteen sixty and governor
I stand you ordered his release on the next day. This was in part due to add
can see by Garcia, who recognise that Hernandez had knowingly risk his own life in pursuit of this civil rights goal. As we said earlier, the facts
he's were clear and he had committed murder, so
by allowing this case to be appealed. Key
was knowingly risking a death sentence. Hernandez verses. Texas was
suitable and influential in a lot of ways, since it set the precedent that the fourteenth amendments protections applied to Mexico
hurricanes. It laid the groundwork for fighting other forms of discrimination against them, including things like housing and employment discrimination. The idea that
Fourteen amendment was not just related to a two class idea of race was also a huge deal
before her name is versus Texas. Most fourteen amendment arguments were about black and white, not about any other race or ethnic group, but
application of those same rights and protection to Mexican Americans meant that in the United States, race was not just a two class system. There were other
as is well some of them not related to race in any way who could be the targets of unconstitutional discrimination? To recap what we said at the top of the show Hernandez verses Texas was also hugely important, because it was the first Supreme Court case related to civil rights for Mexican Americans, particularly after the world were to era, and it was the first to be,
argued by Mexican Americans people doing it weren't being backed by any kind of nation, wide legal organization or a strategy. They were just a handful of local lawyers who were also mexican American, of which there were not that many practicing and Texas, the four of them, represented roughly twenty percent of the mexican american lawyers pray
anywhere in Texas at the time. So this was a groundbreaking first term alive. Different directions, Hernandez versus Texas
tend to be the main precedent in civil rights. Cases for mixed can Americans until now
Seventy one winces narrows versus Corpus Christie, independent school districts, recognised Hispanics as a distant
minority group with all the constitutional protections
apply to other minority groups applying to Hispanics as well. How
However, the core issue that started this whole k, such was the under representation of Mexican Americans on juries, continues to be an issue in nineteen. Seventy seven, the Supreme Court heard constant ADA Verses Party to which found that a defendant had been discriminated against in part, because seventy nine percent of the counties population, where he lived,
Mexican American, but over an eleven year period, only thirty nine percent of those summoned to be on the grand jury were Mexican American, Carlos Kinect served as the city.
turning a San Antonio until nineteen sixty one when he joined the faculty at Saint Mary,
school of law and became the nations first
the american law professor. He was later appointed to the fourth court.
Appeals and eventually became its chief justice, making him the first mexican American to hold back position. He helped
found the mexican American Legal Defence and educational fun and became its first national president. He died of lung cancer in two thousand and eleven
Johnny Herrera continued with his civil rights work for the rest of his career, eventually becoming the National Lou Lack president and working as its national legal adviser. He died after a stroke and nineteen. Eighty six.
in the end was appointed to serve as a federal judge under President Jimmy Carter. He died of prostate cancer in two thousand six dusk or see a sadly struggled with alcohol abuse for the rest of his life, which was later compounded by depression. He was in and out of hospitals and he was
This bar after passing bad checks. He stopped attending meetings of Lou Lack and the g I forum and whose behaviour became increasingly erratic. He died on June. Third, nineteen sixty four and he was forty. Eight
its clear that Hernandez versus Texas broaden the applicability of the fourteen amendments protections, but there continues to be some debate about how much it actually helped Mexican Americans most of its arguments, had to do a surname
which excluded people who had changed their last names or who
for example, were mexican on their mother side, but had their fathers anglo surname and at least for it,
I'm. It said the president, the people who were protected under the fourteenth amendment were,
he only entitled to those protections when it was clear that there
community was operating under a systemic state of discrimination. Although that was later reform,
and by other court cases,
The whole thing was framed as whether Mexican Americans design
equal rights, but whether Mexican Americans were white factually one of the most interesting things to me on a third of intellectual level. About this whole case, a lot of people think of race is having some kind of inherently biological component, but it really is a social construct. And if you look at the history of race in the United States, there is a whole negotiation of who is and is not allowed to be. White, and a lot of it is fascinating and sometimes disturbing. And if you want
our away more condensed look into how that has worked throughout United States history. I strongly recommend the series seeing white from the podcast seen on radio, which goes through the whole thing. We, it touches on a lot of things we ve talked about on the show
war, but in a lot more compressed timeframe like we have some of the same things we have talked about on the show, like some exact episodes that we have had on the show they have talked about as well, but its condensed over. I think thirteen or fourteen episodes of their podcast, I also don't say, but PETE Hernandez sort of disappears from the historical record after he was purled in,
and at some point be clearly died. But it's not it's not otherwise clear exactly what happened to that him after that, and regardless of all other stuff, where we just said verandas verses. Texas is unimportant, groundbreaking Supreme Court case that is just buried by Brown Verses Board coming immediately after it, basically like
We're looking for our work related to this. There are so many pictures from Brown versus board and
Basically, nine from this I'm interested in it did not get the kind of national attention and coverage Babel.
Persons boarded, although people at home and Texas were weight
by the radio to find out what the Supreme Court had decided. Blake
People were as attached to finding out as like any other civil rights issues that directly to pertains to a person. People will wait for it to find out what the Supreme Court is. Gonna announced on it and that's definitely. What happened in Texas
With this particular case raised there much for joining us on a Saturday, since this episode is out of the archive, if you heard of email address or facebook url or something similar over the course of the show that could be obsolete. Now, our current email address is history. Podcast at I heart, radio dot com are old, helstone. Firstly, email address no longer works. You can find us all over social media at missed in history and
subscribe to our shadow on apple pod task, Google Podcast, the eye heart radio app and wherever else he listened, the fog casts stuffy miss than history classes of production, of a heart radio for more by cap
from my heart radio method by her radio habit, my gas or wherever you listen to your favorite, Joe.
how do aeroplanes flying what's his box, what is this thing? Do kids are curious about everything, including guns, learn how to store your gun securely and make your own safer at an family fired outward brought. You buy an family fire Brady any council when you get back to kissing her cheeks amount, green babies, making sandy dinner when a how full of family and lack of low carbon nineteen is change. How we live in how we feel were now we're vaccines. They are the very first step that let us get back to what we miss most it's ok to have questions is essay Dunaway now get the facts. Visit git vaccine answers dot org, so you can
One decision on vaccines are available to you brought to you by the ad council has more of a social thing, but it was an academic thing, even though all these years have passed, I still had that longing to have my diploma at age. Thirty Carissa finished her high school
if you're, even considering getting your nose, but a woman, you can do it, no one.
Diploma alone- if you are thinking of finishing your high school diploma, you have held by free adult education classes near you finish: your diploma dot, org. That's finish your diploma,
org rocky by the dollar General Literacy Foundation and the council,
Transcript generated on 2021-10-10.