March is Texas History Month.
As Texas State Historian and archivist for the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University, Monte Monroe is understandably passionate about history and its preservation. But, particularly during Texas History Month in March, he wants to impress upon the public just how meaningful that history is and how it reverberates even today.
Expert
Monte Monroe, Texas State Historian and archivist for the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University, (806) 834-3063 or monte.monroe@ttu.edu
Talking Points
- A primary job of the Texas State Historian is to educate students and the general public alike about the long and fascinating history of the state.
- The first historic references to Texas occur in 1519 during the Spanish colonial period and extend to topics in the space frontier eras of our history. It is a rich story, filled with many diverse ethnic, racial, gender and political participants.
- There are great figures in Texas history whose stories can inspire Texans today. Among Monroe's favorites are: Francisca Alvarez, the Angel of Goliad; her great-grandson Lauro Cavazos, the first Hispanic U.S. Secretary of Education as well as the first alumnus and the first Hispanic person to serve as president of Texas Tech; Cornelia Adair, founder of the historic JA Ranch; World War II-era Gov. Coke Stevenson, who only had 22 months of formal education; Waggoner Carr, the Texas attorney general when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas; Texas Tech alumnus Rick Husband and Lubbock native Willie McCool, astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia; Texas revolutionary leaders including Lorenzo De Zavala, Stephen F. Austin and Barbara Jordon; and Sam Houston.
Quotes
- "Texas history represents the collective memories and writings of its people. I have met many interesting Texans and helped them preserve their individual histories, and I want to help students and the public understand that history is not a dead, boring subject. Texas history is very much alive, in each of their lives, even if they are unaware of that fact."
- "The stories of Texans from every walk of life, who have done remarkable things, as well as things that, on the surface, seem unremarkable, like teaching or serving others, contribute to the foundational mosaic of our culture and to who we are as Texans."
