Tatcho Mindiola, pioneer in Mexican American Studies, dies at 85
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Tatcho Mindiola. Photo: Courtesy of the University of Houston
Tatcho Mindiola, a veteran of the 1970s Chicano Movement who went on to create one of the nation's most successful Mexican American Studies college programs, has died. He was 85.
The big picture: While a sociology professor at the University of Houston, Mindiola mentored thousands of Latino and Black students, including future state lawmakers, city councilors, business leaders and journalists.
- The University of Houston announced Mindiola's passing on Sunday but did not release additional details.
- Mindiola, who was retired, is credited with starting an underfunded Mexican American Studies program and turning it into a multimillion-dollar entity with graduate fellows, visiting scholars and nationally known professors.
Zoom in: After the Chicano Movement, Mindiola became one of the first Mexican Americans to receive a doctorate from Brown University in Rhode Island at a time when few Latinos attended Ivy Leagues.
- Upon returning to Houston, he launched the Mexican American Studies program, which later became the UH Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies.
- Mindiola was able to get funding for the program by working with a state lawmaker and quietly getting a line item in the Texas state budget.
- The center developed programs aimed at helping first-generation college students and those in poverty stay in school.
Zoom out: Born in 1939, Mindiola grew up in Houston in the city's Black and Mexican American neighborhoods and remained an advocate for Black/Latino relations.
- The 1997 "Black-Brown Relations and Stereotypes," which he co-authored, showed how tensions had developed over the years and posed solutions on how both populations should address misunderstandings.
What they're saying: "I am saddened to hear about the death of Dr. Tatcho Mindiola. He was a trailblazer who led the way for many current Hispanic leaders," Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement.
- U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) said Mindiola inspired Latinos to find strength in heritage and taught his students never to shy away from their pride or power.
- "He made them a part of something greater — a shared mission to create a more connected, culturally vibrant, and proudly Chicano nation. In doing so, he proved to us all, indeed, sí se puede."
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