The 1920s and the 1930s were a tumultuous period for Mexican nationals and Mexican Americans (referred to as Mexicans), specifically how Mexicans practiced “resistance” Mexican Catholicism to construct their cultural and religious identities in the U.S. Their resistance centered on their identities as Mexicans and católicos, which affirmed, maintained, and passed down cultural and religious traditions against North Texas's Anglo-Protestant society. Notably, this resistance is examined within a local and international context as Mexican Catholics interacted with the Protestant settlement house movement, Wesley House in Fort Worth. The short-lived but popular Iglesia Católica Ortodóxa Apostólica Nacional Mexicana (ICAM), also known as the Mexican Catholic Apostolic Church, which was a Mexican nationalistic movement that competed against the Roman Catholic Church for the allegiance of Mexicans in Dallas. Additionally, the use of religious traditions, such as the Rosary, protests to desegregate a public pool, and the work of the Comisión Patriótica Mexicana (Mexican Patriotic Commission) will also be examined.
An overlooked field of study is the crucial role Mexican women played in providing cultural and ethno-religious education in the home. Additionally, women mediated or “negotiated” education outside the home (within Anglo institutions), especially in their interactions with the settlement programs. Within their homes, churches, and communities, women managed different identities as Mexicanas. Within these spheres, they were considered submissive, silent, and expected to be perfect mothers. However, women were emboldened to confront particular issues they and their families faced, such as the limited availability of social-service programs and medical services, which forced Mexicanas to interact with Protestant settlement houses. “Negotiating” settlement house program instructions meant accepting some education, such as learning to read, write, and speak English. Mexicanas also taught resistance to their children, which emphasized rejecting other instructions, namely Americanization.
Some católicos asserted their resistance identity by merging it with Mexican nationalist sentiment, especially with the short-lived Mexican Catholic Apostolic Church. Attraction to the church was also connected with Mexicans’ resistance identity connected with labor organizations and workers’ rights. Outside of the Roman Catholic Church, the Mexican Catholic Church was successful at supporting resistance identity and ethnic pride. Its success at attracting working-class Mexican nationals was another reason Anglo Catholics began supporting new churches, humanitarian aid, and education for Mexican Catholics. In this challenging environment, Mexican religious practices, like the Rosary, became significant because Catholics were encouraged to seek Mary’s intercession on their behalf. This practice has not received adequate historical research as it relates to resistance during and after the Mexican Revolution. Still, Mexican Catholic’s use of the Rosary is a critical way to understand how Mexican Catholics lived out their faith and the role this practice played as part of their resistance. Texas’s social and economic conditions worsened for Mexicans during the Great Depression, but they still engaged in protests. This led to one of the earliest forms of protest to desegregate the Palace Theatre in Fort Worth and Pike Park pool in Dallas in the 1930s. These efforts were successful because of the work of Dallas-Fort Worth Mexicans, and international pressure from the Mexican consulate in Dallas.
By the Texas Centennial (1936), prejudice towards Mexicans embodied early aspects of Texan/American exceptionalism. The celebration emphasized Texas revolutionaries, but it also degraded Mexicans. Despite this atmosphere, the Mexican community continued their resistance and tried to counter these negative representations of their colonia. As a form of ethnic and religious resistance, the ethnic Mexican community in Dallas held their celebration at a Catholic school to celebrate their community amidst anti-Mexican propaganda.
The 1920s and 1930s were tumultuous for Mexican nationals and Mexican Americans (referred to as Mexicans), especially in the U.S. Mexican Catholics had to contend with racial and economic discrimination, Protestant Americanization efforts in the Wesley Settlement House movement, and the Great Depression era in North Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth). Despite these obstacles, Mexicans practiced “resistance” Catholicism to construct their cultural and religious identities. Their resistance centered on their identities as Mexicans and católicos, which affirmed, maintained, and passed down cultural and religious traditions against Anglo-Protestant society. Specifically, this resistance examines the overlooked interactions of Mexican Catholic women and the Settlement House movement. Additionally, resistance was in Mexican labor organizations, and the short-lived Iglesia Católica Ortodóxa Apostólica Nacional Mexicana (ICAM), also known as the Mexican Catholic Apostolic Church. As a result, Mexican Catholics protested segregated public spaces, and affirmed their place in society.