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Fronteras: Student-led research in San Antonio shines a light on the complicated history of the enslaved Black Navarros

José Antonio Navarro was the patriarch of one of the most prominent families in the history of San Antonio dating back to the 18th century.

Navarro lived during key periods of Texas history – he was one of only two Tejanos to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence, and he helped write the first Texas State Constitution.

Navarro and his family were also enslavers.

A project between St. Mary’s University and the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) examines the history of the enslaved Black Navarros.

Teresa Van Hoy, professor of history at St. Mary’s, said the project grew out of a complaint she heard at Casa Navarro – the historic home of the Navarros in downtown San Antonio.

“(The visitor) said, ‘Why is it that white enslavers have to be honest about the history of the enslaved people who lived on their plantations, but Hispanics don’t? The Navarro family enslaved people and there’s no mention of it here,’” she recounted.

From left to right: TPR's Norma Martinez; Teresa Van Hoy, professor of history at St. Mary's University; Winter Saldaña, psychology major a St. Mary's University; Eddie Paniagua, historian, activist, and filmmaker.
Norma Martinez / TPR
From left to right: TPR's Norma Martinez; Teresa Van Hoy, professor of history at St. Mary's University; Winter Saldaña, psychology major a St. Mary's University; Eddie Paniagua, historian, activist, and filmmaker.

Van Hoy tasked her students, including psychology major Winter Saldaña, and historian and filmmaker Eddie Paniagua with exploring the complicated history of the Black Navarros.

Their efforts are chronicled in the film, Black Navarros: Slavery & San Antonio. It examines the lives of the enslaved workers who stayed at Navarro’s ranch to work for wages following emancipation, and who later became landowners themselves.

Paniagua explained the goal behind the project.

“We’re going to address some uncomfortable topics and we’re not going to place judgment on anybody,” he said. “Let’s see how we can come together as a community in San Antonio and acknowledge the truth and let it have its day and move forward.”

Click here to hear more in-depth about St. Mary’s student-led research in the podcast, Mud, Blood, and Mother’s Milk: Slavery in San Antonio.

Black Navarros: Slavery & San Antonio was screened in September at Casa Navarro. It’s expected to be updated with footage of never-before-published Navarro family papers and artifacts.

View the first cut below:

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter at @NormDog1