UT Collections

Charles Edmund Horman, a Harvard educated American freelance journalist, was abducted, tortured, and executed in Chile during General Augusto Pinochet's coup d'état that began on September 11, 1973 to overthrow the government of Salvador Allende. The Hormans sued Henry Kissinger and Nixon Administration officials over Charles Horman's wrongful death and its concealment. The collection contains materials written and collected by Joyce Horman and Edmund Horman, wife and father of Charles Horman, that document events resulting from Charles Horman's death.

Mexican American civil rights advocate, educator, sociologist and anthropologist Dr. Julian Samora is considered to be the first Mexican American to receive a Ph.D. in Sociology and Anthropology. His research interests included the delivery of health services, rural populations in urban settings and the rural poor, Mexican immigration and the movement of Mexican Americans along the U.S.-Mexico border, population studies, and the educational status of youth and adults. He was co-founder, along with Ernesto Galarza and Herman Gallegos, of the Southwest Council of La Raza, now the National Council of La Raza. He served on boards or as a consultant to many organizations including, among others, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the Mexican American Legal Defense ' Education Fund, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the President's Commission on Rural Poverty, the President's Commission on Income Maintenance Programs, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the United Way. The collection is comprised of correspondence, written works, personal and biographical materials, organization records, photographs, audiovisual materials, and Samora’s personal library.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was founded in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1929 with the mission to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States. Today, LULAC advocates powerfully for legislation that benefits the interests of all Latin Americans in the U.S. as individuals and members of larger Latin American communities. This three part collection stems from the "Presidential Papers Initiative" established to collect the papers of each LULAC president from 1929 to the present; however, actual preservation in this collection is limited to sixteen presidents over the 80 year history of the organization. Materials range from administrative documents to subject files on a wide range of civil, economic and social rights.

Political leader from La Joya, Texas, and advocate for the poor, Leo James Leo championed many Mexican American causes. He was involved in both local and statewide politics and served on the boards of directors of many Great Society poverty programs, such as the Associated City and County Economic Corporation, helping the poor with food, job assistance, housing, and medical aid. He was often involved in controversy because of his forthright defense of these programs. In 1960, Leo and other Mexican -American political leaders organized the Political Association of Spanish Speaking Organizations (PASSO). Leo chaired the 1,000 member Hidalgo chapter of PASSO, the largest in the state. He also formed the Hidalgo County Political League, an association of liberal Anglo American and Mexican American Democrats, in the late 1960s. In addition, he assisted with summer youth programs and helped file citizenship papers for many Mexican immigrants. The collection contains materials from La Joya political activities and statements; the Guillermo Flores Elementary School dedication; personal and family history; and posthumous dedications and tributes.