Pictured at the second annual Paredes Lecture, held at
the Downtown Campus are (from left) Raul Martinez,
president of the Bexar County Psychoanalytical
Association; Paul Ingmundson, president of the San
Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (SASPS);
Wayne Ehrisman, a founder and past-president of SASPS;
anthropologist and UT Austin faculty member Jose Limon,
featured guest speaker; and Kathleen Glash, director of
UTSA counseling services.
Lecture discusses Mexican American middle-class identity
(July 12, 2002)--The presence of a strong military-base complex that also employed thousands of civilians coupled with post-World War II GI Bill educational benefits helped to foster a relatively stable middle-class life for many Mexican Americans living in and around San Antonio. According to UT Austin anthropologist and author Jose E. Limon, featured speaker at the second annual Frank C. Paredes Lecture held at the Downtown Campus, the resulting employment opportunities were relatively free of the racial discrimination found in the private sector.
"'La Kelly' (Air Force Base) was regarded as something special, almost like a religious institution," Limon said. "Many Mexican Americans believed that if they could only get a toe-hold, all life would open before them."
The existence of Our Lady of the Lake University was also crucial. According to Limon, a cadre of Mexican Americans have been educated there, many of them women who went on to become teachers. Mexican American women also have traditionally been the higher income-producers in their families.
Other trends of note in the evolution of Mexican American middle-class society in the United States from 1930-1980 in terms of employment include a jump in the number of professionals from 1.4 percent to 8 percent of the population. The percentage of those who work in clerical jobs or sales has increased more than five-fold from 4.2 to 22.4 percent.
During the same 50-year period, the number of Mexican American business owners dropped from 16.4 percent to 5.4 percent -- a trend that is reversing. Limon said the number of Mexican American entrepreneurs is today at an all-time high.
The Paredes lecture honors the memory of prominent San Antonio psychologist Frank Paredes, a founding member of the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies and former president of the Bexar County Psychological Association whose work led to an expanded understanding of how culture shapes an individual's sense of personal identity.
----------------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
UTSA
begins registration for leadership institute
Satellite
Space exhibits focus on female figure, archetypal roles
UTSA
names assistant coach for men's basketball
UTSA
partners on $1.4 million grant to teach youth about gardens
Lecture discusses Mexican American middle-class identity
UTSA
Archives to collect flood photographs and stories
----------------------------------------------------------
© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002