THE EVOLUTION OF RACE RELATIONS IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS FROM 1930 THROUGH 1970: AN EXAMINATION WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE EFFECTS OF CHANGE ON THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
This paper examines the evolution of race relations in San Antonio, Texas from 1930 through 1970. The examination emphasizes the effects of change in racial relations on the city's African American community. The structure of San Antonio's population dictates that an examination of race relations in the city must consider the role of population segments in addition to African Americans.
Since 1930, San Antonio has been the third largest city in Texas. The city has a diverse multicultural population, with Anglos and Hispanics (predominately Mexican American รน 94 percent) as the largest population groups. Anglos remained the largest ethnic population segment until the mid-1950s, when the Hispanics surpassed them. In 1930, Anglos comprised approximately 62 percent of San Antonio's population, while Hispanics accounted for approximately 30 percent. By 1970, Hispanics accounted for approximately 51 percent of the city's population, while Anglos accounted for approximately 41 percent. Throughout the period from 1930 to 1970, African Americans accounted for approximately seven-percent of the city's population, with other racial and ethnic groups accounting for 1.5 percent.
Biologically, neither Hispanics generally nor Mexican Americans specifically are a race apart. Sociologically in Texas, however, Mexican Americans experienced discrimination for no reason other than their ethnicity from the beginning of dominant Anglo political power in the state until the 1960s. From 1930 through 1970, the progress in race relations for African Americans and Mexican Americans was not always parallel. Nevertheless, changes in race relations involving primarily either African Americans or Mexican Americans had effects in the other community. An example is educational se...