This Week's Story

Henry B. González broke barriers for Mexican Americans to be influential in Texas city and state government, and the U.S. Congress. He became famous for practicing integrity as an American politician.

This Week’s Story relives American history and the Bible through brief inspiring stories presented on mp3 audio recordings and text for reading.

Henry B. González: American and Unique! part two

Henry B. González was not born in Mexico. He was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1916, and often called a Mexican American or “that Mexican.” How sarcastic the names for an American can be when they are based on the differences between two people.

My mother was born in Wheaton, Illinois. Her father was born in Germany, but I never heard her called a German American. Perhaps if she had spoken with a German accent or had some stereotypical German facial feature, she might have been called a German American.

I was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. My parents were born in the United States; yet one day I walked out of a store in California and a man said to me with hate in his face and voice, “You’re a German.”

I replied, “I am an American. My grandfather was born in Germany.” I walked on, wondering why he despised me.

As Henry B González grew he was aware that he was disrespected by some Americans. He was proud to be born of parents born in Mexico, proud to become a Texas senator, and proud to become a United States representative. He represented Americans no matter where they or their parents came from, or what tinge of brown or white their skin had.

If someone wanted to emphasize the difficulties of Henry B.’s Mexican heritage, it is true that when he wanted to run for the San Antonio city council, he asked the city leaders, “Would you help me to run for city council?”

Each one told Henry B., “Do not run. A Mexican cannot win.”

Henry B. ran for the office and was elected.

When he ran for the Texas state senate, he was told repeatedly, “A Mexican cannot win a state office.” He won the office, making him the first Mexican American in one hundred years to be elected to the state senate.

When Henry B. ran for the United States Congress in 1961, he won fifty-five percent of the vote. Voters exclaimed, “Astonishing! How was that possible? The voting rights of African Americans and Hispanics have restrictions.”

Newscasters broadcast the conclusion. “It is clear that many white Texans voted for Henry B. González. He is the first Mexican American to be elected to Congress!”

Henry B. was a unique American who saw needs. He could see impossibilities as opportunities. His family had enriched him. His father had been the mayor of Mapimi, a small town in northern Mexico. He fled his home during the Revolution of 1910 and went to San Antonio. He became the editor of La Prensa, a newspaper written in Spanish in the United States. Henry B.’s home was always a center for discussing politics and ideas. His parents understood the importance of a good education.

In our next story we will hear some of Henry’s challenges and victories with school and how he related later to struggles with education and poverty.

Today, Todd Warren, Gwen Crawford, Barbara Steiner, and I are pleased that you could join us.

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