As the saying goes, those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. In recent weeks, the expression has been invoked by both the Black community and the Latino community.
Recently. images of border patrol agents on horseback charging at Black asylum seekers on the South Texas border went viral online. Many saw parallels to slavery, and some recalled the little-known history of state-sanctioned violence by Texas Rangers.
A new book, “Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on the History of the Border,” aims to keep the historical record alive. The book is a collection of essays exploring a history of systematic atrocities carried out against members of minority groups along the southern border.
Sonia Hernández, associate professor of history at Texas A&M University and John Morán González, professor of American and English literature at the University of Texas at Austin are editors of the book.
Hernández says it’s important to remember the history of state-sponsored violence perpetrated by officials, including Texas Rangers, even as the state has history museums celebrating them. González says that part of the healing process for communities affected by the historical violence is having that history taught in schools.
