The Hispanic Issues Section is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the seminal Supreme Court case Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954), which ended Texas’ practice of systematically excluding Mexican Americans from juries and held that Mexican Americans were entitled to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Press Release
Events
The Hispanic Issues Section recently held an event celebrating the 70th anniversary of Hernandez v. Texas at St. Mary’s University School of Law in conjunction with several other organizations.
The Hispanic Issues Section also expects to provide additional Hernandez v. Texas related programming at this year’s State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in Dallas.
Additional Sources
Court Records/Contemporary and Primary Sources
- Hernandez trial transcript, US Supreme Court (pdf).
- Briefs filed in Hernandez, US Supreme Court (pdf).
- A cotton picker finds justice! : the saga of the Hernandez case, compiled by Ruben Munguia (May/June 1954).
- Sarah McClendon, “Jury Bias Put to High Court,” San Antonio Light, January 12, 1954, p. 1.
- John Herrera, Letter to Luciano Santoscoy re: Hernandez, May 15, 1954, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Houston Metropolitan Research Center at Houston Public Library.
- John Herrera, Letter to the Editor of The Houston Post, May 22, 1975, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Houston Metropolitan Research Center at Houston Public Library.
- Judge James De Anda, Remarks About Hernandez, 2004 George I. Sanchez Lecture, Institute for Higher Education Law & Governance, University of Houston Law Center, November, 2004.
Compilations
- “Colored men” and “hombres aquí”: Hernandez v. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican-American Lawyering. Olivas, Michael A., ed. (2006). Houston, TX: Arte Público Press.
- Hernandez v. Texas at Fifty, University of Houston Law Center and Arte Publico Press Conference.
- 1954: Hernandez v. Texas, Library of Congress.
Video Presentations
- A Class Apart, PBS American Experience, 2009 (50 min).
- Hernandez v. Texas, Hilda G. Tagle and Veronica Villalobos, May 1, 2014 (1 hour).
- Hernandez v. Texas, State Bar of Texas, Law Related Education Committee (13 min).
Articles/Stories
- Gabriel Valle, A Hero Forgotten: Gus Garcia and the Litigation of Hernandez v. Texas (1954), Journal of Supreme Court History 48 (2023) 31–53.
- Carlos Soltero, Hernandez v. Texas (1954) and the Exclusion of Mexican Americans from Grand Juries, Latinos and American Law, University of Texas Press, 2006.
- Hernandez v. Texas: A Class Apart, Bullock Museum.
- Hernandez v. the State of Texas, Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas.
Click here for a PDF containing this entire list.
Anything we missed?
If we are missing any historical or other works relating to Hernandez v. Texas that you think should be highlighted on this page, please email us here!