1315 21st Street
Galveston, Texas 77550
info@thebryanmuseum.org
(409) 632-7685
501(c)(3) Non-Profit

Hard Won Freedoms in America is a three-part public lecture series to be presented from September through November 2026 in conjunction with America 250.
The series will explore pivotal moments in history when individuals and communities confronted injustice and organized to secure civil, educational, and political rights. Through lectures by nationally respected scholars and community members, the program will highlight the fight for civil rights in South Texas, the unlikely heroes of the American Revolution and the stories of Jewish immigration to America.
Dr. Barrera is a professor of history at South Texas College in McAllen. In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, he will speak on his research with a focus on the history of Latinos/Mexican Americans in the U.S., emphasizing civil rights, social movements, cultural identity, and educational activism in the 20th century. Dr. Barrera will discuss the challenges that Latinos/Mexican Americans faced in Texas as well as the relationship of Chicano students and the school systems.