Refusing to Forget is a collaborative effort to examine and expose the devastating impact of state-sanctioned racial violence throughout the early 20th century in the Texas Borderlands. Join historians, writers, filmmakers, and more as we study this history and honor those who challenged unjust power structures in our communities. Join us for this two-day community event, featuring a plática, Porvenir film screening, workshop sessions, food and drinks, and more! Free and open to the public.

Day One: Wednesday, May 18th

UTSA Downtown, Buena Vista Building, Senator Gregory Luna Room

3:30 to 5:00 – Student poster session – Visit with students working on borderlands studies and learn about emerging research. All welcome to participate.

5:00 to 6:00 – Opening reception. All welcome to join.

6:00 to 7:30 – Welcome Plenary Featuring: Borderlands History and Social Justice in 2022

• Jerry Gonzalez, Host, UTSA historian with expertise in Chicano and metropolitan history. Gonzalez directs the Mellon Pathways Program at UTSA.
• Monica Muñoz Martinez – Named a MacArthur Fellow in 2021, Martinez is a renowned public historian, award-winning author, and teacher.
• Sonia Hernández – A co-founder of Refusing to Forget, Hernandez’s work centers on gender and ethnicity in the borderlands.
• Trinidad Gonzales teaches history and Mexican American studies, working to ensure Introductory History courses are diverse and representative.
• Chris Carmona is the author of The Road to Llorona Park, listed by NBC News as one of the 8 Great Latino Books published in 2016. He also won the NACCS Tejas Award for best fiction (2016).
• Ben Johnson teaches courses on borders, migration, violence, and memory. He is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters.
• John Morân González serves as Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at UT Austin and on the Board of Directors for Humanities Texas.

Day Two: Thursday, May 19

UTSA Downtown, Buena Vista Building, Aula Canaria

8:30 to 9:00 – Join us for breakfast and conversation

9:00 to 10:00 – Roundtable conversations about Graduate school: opportunities, support, mentorship, and sponsorship

10:30 to 12:00 – Film Screening: Porvenir

• John Philip Santos hosts a conversation with Monica Muñoz Martinez and Mrs. Norma Rodriguez about the impact of violence on family, memory, and memoir projects.

12:30 to 1:30 – Lunch and conversation about the centrality of ethnic studies in history courses

2:00-3:00 – The Power of Narrative and Historical Memory

• Ben Johnson hosts a conversation with Chris Carmona and authors exploring the limits and possibilities within various narrative forms

4:00 to 5:30 – The Road Ahead

• Monica Muñoz Martinez
• Sonia Hernández
• Trinidad Gonzales
• Chris Carmona
• Ben Johnson
• John Morân González

Sponsored by the Mellon Foundation.

To learn more visit https://refusingtoforget.org/