The Power of Truth

The Power of Truth:Why Some Fear Histories of the US-Mexico Border Monica Muñoz Martinez (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution A boy climbs the US-Mexico border wall in Brownsville, Texas. Credit: Nofx221984 via Wikipedia. [End Page 765] On September 1, 2018, Arlinda Valencia and Geneva Van Matre welcomed one hundred guests to the Magoffin Home in El Paso to commemorate the Porvenir massacre of 1918. The event was one effort in a long quest for justice started by their great-grandmothers, Juana Bonilla Flores and Alexandra Nieves, one hundred years prior. The gathering included musical performances, a blessing, and speeches from politicians, educators, historians, and descendants recounting how the tragedy affected generations. Jeff Davis, a Texas Historical Commission (THC) representative in attendance, later described the event as "somber and respectful but hopeful." Overall, it was, he said, "a near perfect event."1 What was missing was the planned finale: the unveiling of a Texas state historical marker commemorating the Porvenir massacre. On July 27, THC commissioners approved the final script for the marker, and staff ordered the casting from a foundry. But in August, the Presidio County Historical Commission contested the marker, and the THC halted the production—a continuation of the injustice that occurred so many years ago and a continuation of a deep-seated commitment to controlling how history is told in Texas. The descendants' opportunity for public healing was abruptly stalled. While 250 words cast in aluminum cannot bring full closure, it is one important form of redress. Ongoing calls for a truthful accounting of racial violence help disrupt the typical narrative: that violence is followed by reconciliation; that the dead were likely criminals; that the mere passage of time can heal wounds. The marker for the Porvenir massacre was only one of a cluster of recently approved markers that provided a truthful accounting of racial terror in Texas. Others, like the markers for La Matanza in Cameron County and the Slocum massacre in Anderson County, showed that historical markers can provide opportunities for communities to publicly condemn racial violence at the hands of vigilantes and law enforcement officers. Educating the public about past injustices, however, also sparked conversations about ongoing violence, inequality, and injustice today. The power of these histories to inform ongoing calls for social justice is precisely why so many prefer these histories to remain hidden. [End Page 766] The Unsettling History of the Porvenir Massacre The battle to unveil a historical marker for the Porvenir massacre had been a century in the making. The horrific details of the tragedy were well documented, but the history had long been suppressed.2 At 2 a.m. on January 28, 1918, Company B of the Texas Rangers, soldiers from the Eighth US Cavalry Regiment, and four local ranchmen surrounded the residents of Porvenir, a rural ranching community on the Texas-Mexico border. The posse woke families from their beds and separated fifteen men and boys from their families and neighbors and placed them under arrest. Without charging the group with a crime, the Texas Rangers proceeded to execute the fifteen prisoners en masse. The dead were Antonio Castañeda, Longino Flores, Alberto García, Eutimio González, Ambrosio Hernández, Pedro Herrera, Severiano Herrera, Vivian Herrera, Macedonio Huerta, Tiburcio Jáquez, Juan Jiménez, Pedro Jiménez, Serapio Jiménez, Manuel Moralez, and Román Nieves. Along the US-Mexico border, the early twentieth century was a period of state-sanctioned racial terror. The massacre is just one example. Prosecuting state police murder was a monumental feat at the time. But testimonies from the survivors, letters from US soldiers, investigations by US attorneys and Mexican diplomats, and confessions by Rangers and Anglo civilians ultimately forced the state to dismiss five Texas Rangers, disband Company B, and force Captain James M. Fox to resign. Adjutant General James A. Harley spoke plainly, explaining the state decision: "15 Mexicans were killed when they were under the custody of your men and after they had been arrested and unarmed. This was proved by all kinds of evidence, even by the confession of those who took part and reports collected by this office and by

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