Posted on Jun 9, 2022
Mourning a Mexican-American tragedy, under the shade of pecan trees
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https://www.npr.org/2022/06/09/ [login to see] /mourning-a-mexican-american-tragedy-under-the-shade-of-pecan-trees
Josue "George" Garza could never have predicted that the baby pecan trees he planted on the front lawn of Robb Elementary School would, almost 60 years later, provide shade from the searing Texas sun to thousands of people who would come to mourn an unthinkable tragedy.
And yet it's fitting that it's beneath those trees that mourners have built the sprawling memorial that honors the 19 children and two teachers — almost all Mexican-American — who were gunned down in a classroom steps away.
It's fitting because when he planted them in 1965, George Garza, then a 5th-grade teacher at Robb Elementary, knew the trees would help Mexican-Americans of Uvalde, Texas, feel better connected to their school and to each other.
The saplings had been dug up from the banks of a nearby river. Garza, one of Robb's only Mexican-American teachers, convinced the principal at the time to let him plant them because he wanted Robb to be just as beautiful as the school for white children two miles away. Uvalde, Texas, was a segregated town. Robb Elementary was the school for Mexicans. And it was in bad shape.
Josue "George" Garza could never have predicted that the baby pecan trees he planted on the front lawn of Robb Elementary School would, almost 60 years later, provide shade from the searing Texas sun to thousands of people who would come to mourn an unthinkable tragedy.
And yet it's fitting that it's beneath those trees that mourners have built the sprawling memorial that honors the 19 children and two teachers — almost all Mexican-American — who were gunned down in a classroom steps away.
It's fitting because when he planted them in 1965, George Garza, then a 5th-grade teacher at Robb Elementary, knew the trees would help Mexican-Americans of Uvalde, Texas, feel better connected to their school and to each other.
The saplings had been dug up from the banks of a nearby river. Garza, one of Robb's only Mexican-American teachers, convinced the principal at the time to let him plant them because he wanted Robb to be just as beautiful as the school for white children two miles away. Uvalde, Texas, was a segregated town. Robb Elementary was the school for Mexicans. And it was in bad shape.
Mourning a Mexican-American tragedy, under the shade of pecan trees
Posted from npr.org
Mexico
Uvalde
Firearms and Guns
Children
Murder
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."On May 24, two of those role models – Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia — were killed by a rampaging gunman along with 19 of Uvalde's children.
The district superintendent has said students will never return to Robb Elementary.
It's a painful thing to hear for the people who fought to make Robb a school that Uvalde's Mexican-American community could be proud of. And for the people who know the role it played in the town's fight for equality.
But closing the school is also, they recognize, probably for the best.
"If I were a parent of one of those children, I would not want to go back to that school," Olga Muñoz Rodriquez said.
Some Uvalde residents have said they hope the school will be demolished, and the site turned into a memorial park. But they'd like to see Garza's pecan trees saved – a reminder of Robb Elementary's proud Mexican-American history."
..."On May 24, two of those role models – Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia — were killed by a rampaging gunman along with 19 of Uvalde's children.
The district superintendent has said students will never return to Robb Elementary.
It's a painful thing to hear for the people who fought to make Robb a school that Uvalde's Mexican-American community could be proud of. And for the people who know the role it played in the town's fight for equality.
But closing the school is also, they recognize, probably for the best.
"If I were a parent of one of those children, I would not want to go back to that school," Olga Muñoz Rodriquez said.
Some Uvalde residents have said they hope the school will be demolished, and the site turned into a memorial park. But they'd like to see Garza's pecan trees saved – a reminder of Robb Elementary's proud Mexican-American history."
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