Annotations for Uncategorized: Brownsville

A 5th generation Texas, Norma Cantú grew up in Brownsville in the 1950’s. Education was important in her family, and Cantú’s mother used a connection from a friend to get Norma and her brother into a preschool. By the time she went to Webb Elementary, she was able to skip 1st grade. The school system was unfair: they would make Spanish-speaking students take every grade twice, causing many students to drop out. Following Webb she went to Annie S. Putegnat Elementary School. The school’s facilities were in poor condition. She skipped 6th grade and went straight to junior high. Then she went to Brownsville High, where teachers and students had to deal with overcrowding and lack of funding. She then went to Texas Southmost College to stay close to home and because she got a full ride. She then transferred to Pan American University at Edinburg, where she completed her undergrad in 2 years at the age of 19 with a double major in English and Government with an minor in Education. Her first job out of school was teaching at Brownsville High, where she had been a student just two years prior. Following this she decided follow her dream and apply to law school; she was accepted with a full ride to Harvard, becoming the first Tejana to attend Harvard Law School.

Cantú reflects on her career as MALDEF lawyer, citing specific cases and their impact on the state and Latino communities as a collective. She speaks on some of the testimonies during LULAC v. Clements and tells a story about her first time in Austin at the capitol during Vietnam protest. Cantú talks about the sociopolitical climate when she was at Harvard. She also goes into more detail about higher education funding discrepancies, the future of higher education in Texas, and working within the federal Department of Education.