Mexican Catholic Protests to Americanization in the North Texas Bible Belt, 1920-1936

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.