Oral history training camps coming to San Antonio, organized by the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute
By Jackie Velez
January 21, 2026 at 4:10 PM CST
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Updated on Jan. 2, 2026 @ 2:45 p.m.
Editor's note: Please be aware that the Saturday Oral History Training Camps are moving from in-person to Zoom. Additionally, they will be combining the morning and afternoon camps into one morning session at 10:00 a.m.
Written records don’t always capture the full story of a community’s past. Oral histories offer another way to document personal experiences, traditions, and memories that might otherwise be overlooked.
The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute, known as MACRI, is hosting oral history training camps to help participants learn how to record and preserve these stories in San Antonio.
The camps are supported by a grant from Latinos in Heritage Conservation and the Nuestra Herencia grant program.
Sarah Zenaida Gould, MACRI’s executive director, said the training camps will teach San Antonio residents best practices for recording those histories.
“You would never ask a question, ‘don't you think …’ and then finish the question, because that is kind of telling the respondents that you already have an idea of what you think the direction of their answer should be,” said Gould.
Gould said they will also discuss the launch of its newest project, Oral History Corps.
Mexican American Civil Rights Institute often holds events pertaining to preservation of Latino history. This is one of MACRI's previous events. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
“This will be a body of volunteers who have completed a multipart oral history training program provided by MACRI, and who collect oral histories for MACRI's archive focused on Mexican American civil rights history,” said Gould. “The oral history workshops we're currently offering are open to anyone interested in learning about oral history; however, they also serve as the ‘basic training’ to qualify for the Oral History Corps.”
Gould said requirements for the corps will be shared at the workshops.
“We’re hoping this year to launch our group of volunteers who have been trained (and) can record oral histories for our archive,” said Gould.
Mexican American Civil Rights Institute often holds events pertaining to preservation of Latino history. This is one of MACRI's previous events (3024x4032, AR: 0.75)
The training camps garnered so much response that the one on Jan. 24 filled up quickly. But the chance for inclement weather may require it to be rescheduled. Spots for the Saturday, Feb. 7 workshop at 10 a.m. filled up as of this publication.
Follow MACRI on social media for the latest updates.
Updated on Jan. 2, 2026 @ 2:45 p.m.
Editor's note: Please be aware that the Saturday Oral History Training Camps are moving from in-person to Zoom. Additionally, they will be combining the morning and afternoon camps into one morning session at 10:00 a.m.
Written records don’t always capture the full story of a community’s past. Oral histories offer another way to document personal experiences, traditions, and memories that might otherwise be overlooked.
The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute, known as MACRI, is hosting oral history training camps to help participants learn how to record and preserve these stories in San Antonio.
The camps are supported by a grant from Latinos in Heritage Conservation and the Nuestra Herencia grant program.
Sarah Zenaida Gould, MACRI’s executive director, said the training camps will teach San Antonio residents best practices for recording those histories.
“You would never ask a question, ‘don't you think …’ and then finish the question, because that is kind of telling the respondents that you already have an idea of what you think the direction of their answer should be,” said Gould.
Gould said they will also discuss the launch of its newest project, Oral History Corps.
Mexican American Civil Rights Institute often holds events pertaining to preservation of Latino history. This is one of MACRI's previous events. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
“This will be a body of volunteers who have completed a multipart oral history training program provided by MACRI, and who collect oral histories for MACRI's archive focused on Mexican American civil rights history,” said Gould. “The oral history workshops we're currently offering are open to anyone interested in learning about oral history; however, they also serve as the ‘basic training’ to qualify for the Oral History Corps.”
Gould said requirements for the corps will be shared at the workshops.
“We’re hoping this year to launch our group of volunteers who have been trained (and) can record oral histories for our archive,” said Gould.
Mexican American Civil Rights Institute often holds events pertaining to preservation of Latino history. This is one of MACRI's previous events (3024x4032, AR: 0.75)
The training camps garnered so much response that the one on Jan. 24 filled up quickly. But the chance for inclement weather may require it to be rescheduled. Spots for the Saturday, Feb. 7 workshop at 10 a.m. filled up as of this publication.
Follow MACRI on social media for the latest updates.