CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Instituto de Cultura Hispánica de Corpus Christi celebrated the life and paid tribute to a local Mexican American legacy Jose Cisneros.
In 1968, Cisneros, along with a group of 25 other Mexican American and African American parents filed a lawsuit against CCISD, which accused the district of operating a segregated school system.
The case became known as Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD, which became a landmark case for Mexican American civil rights.
On Thursday night, Cisneros' great granddaughter, Caroline Fuents shared personal stories about her great grandfather, shedding light on the man behind the legacy.
"My great grandfather was very friendly and helped a lot in his community as well, he was helping from fixing cars to working on neighbor's electricity issues... but never forgetting to have a drink with his friends from the neighborhood as well. "
Caroline Fuente also talked about how her family remember Cisneros, saying how loved he was in his community.
Thursday night's tribute event also featured a guest speaker who discuss ed the profound influence of Cisneros' advocacy for civil rights and education.