Corpus Christi Caller Times Editorial: A More Complete Texas History

CORPUS CHRISTI — It isn't often one has the opportunity to be a witness to history — particularly a history so deeply tied to your own. Last week, Tejanos, the descendants of Texas' first settlers, bore witness to a long overdue recognition — the unveiling of the Tejano monument on the historic grounds of the Texas capitol.

Our story in bronze — the statue reflects the early role of Tejano settlers, from a depiction of a Spanish explorer to the traditional vaquero atop a mustang to a family of young Spanish settlers to that quintessential symbol of Texan pride, the longhorn. The 12-year effort to make the Tejano monument a reality stands as a testament to the tenacity and pride in being Texan that today's Tejanos share with their antecedents who took root in Texas nearly 150 years before the first Anglo settlers. While the state appropriated $1.1 million for the project in 2007, the Tejano Monument Committee of private citizens (many from South Texas) raised more than $1 million to see the project through.

Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and legislators who fought to make the monument a reality attended the unveiling. Monument advocates noted the strong, across-the-aisle support the monument received; it never received any legislative opposition. And why shouldn't it have received such broad consensus? After all, this statue is not just about paying homage to the state's Tejano roots, but it is also about getting history right....