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Jose Cisneros Collection Regarding a Court Case against C.C.I.S.D and Segregation of Mexican American Children

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: Coll-36

This collection exclusively covers the legal case Cisneros v. Corpus Christi Independent School District. Its contents include dozens of exhibits from both plaintiff and defendant, and transcripts of trial testimony.

Dates

  • 1968 - 1970

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to taking precautions against infringement of copyright and respecting the publication rights of reproduced materials. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Any materials used should be fully credited with their source according to the example given in the Preferred Citation note. Requests for assistance with citations and images of publication quality should be directed to specialcollections@tamucc.edu

Extent

12 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection is comprised of documentation from the court case Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD. This case established Hispanic Americans as a minority separate from the white classification and helped undo some major systemic racism problems that still lingered a decade and a half after Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas legally ended school segregation.

Biographical / Historical

While this collection does not contain biographical information about Jose Cisneros, a little is known about his life. After hearing about the deplorable conditions of the school his children were attending and being ignored by Corpus Christi Independent School District when raising concerns, he filed a class action lawsuit that would change the racial makeup of the entire United States, making Hispanic Americans a class no longer blended with Caucasians and recognizing them as minorities. This blending had allowed subtle but unmistakable racism and classism to play a part in the funding of education facilities based on language deficiencies after separation by national origin was no longer allowed.

Furthermore, the success of this suit moved the education system further away from the “separate but equal” systemic problem that was supposed to have been overturned in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas in 1954. In Corpus Christi, officials had bused white students away from minority dominated schools, and limited the hiring of minorities at white schools, instead shifting them to schools with predominantly minority students. The success of this case helped protect Hispanic Americans as a minority and tore down some of the major lingering remnants of segregation for both Hispanic and African American students.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged in a single series and is in chronological order, with some duplicates being located further back in the collection out of sequence.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Arturo Medina, CCSU professor received the materials from Jose Cisneros who obtained the documents from the judges presiding in the case.

Related Materials

5 Dr. Hector P. Garcia Papers 27 Dr. Clotilde P. Garcia Papers 181 Santiago Hernandez Papers

Processing Information

Collection was previously arranged. Student Trisha Guico uploaded the collection to ArchivesSpace. Finding Aid written by Eric Christensen, Librarian of Archive Processing.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Jose Cisneros Collection Regarding a Court Case against C.C.I.S.D and Segregation of Mexican American Children
Status
Completed
Author
Eric Christensen
Date
9-29-2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Repository

https://www.tamucc.edu/library/find/special-collections/
Contact:
6300 Ocean Dr.
Unit 5702
Corpus Christi TX 78412 United States
361-825-4500
361-825-5973 (Fax)