Julian Samora Papers, 1934-1989

Biographical Sketch

Mexican American civil rights advocate, educator, sociologist and anthropologist Dr. Julian Samora was born 1 March 1920 in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. As a child, Samora experienced significant discrimination at school and in his community, experiences that influenced his future personal and professional activities. In 1938, with a scholarship from the Frederick G. Bonfils Foundation, Samora entered Adams State Teacher's College in Alamosa, Colorado, where he graduated in 1942 with a degree in history and political science. That same year he married Betty Archuleta, with whom he had five children. In 1947 Samora obtained a Master's Degree from Colorado State University, and in 1953 he received his doctorate in Sociology and Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis with his dissertation on "Minority Leadership in a Bi-Cultural Community." He is considered to be the first Mexican American to receive a Ph.D. in Sociology and Anthropology.

In 1955 Dr. Samora became an assistant professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he worked with his long-time friend Lyle Saunders. In 1957 he became an assistant professor in Sociology and Anthropology at Michigan State University, and in 1959 took a tenured position as professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. He became the Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the Graduate Studies Program at Notre Dame, where he remained until his retirement in 1985. In 1971, with a grant from the Ford Foundation, Dr. Samora founded the Mexican American Graduate Studies Program at Notre Dame, which he considered on of his greatest accomplishments. In fifteen years as the Program's director Dr. Samora mentored and trained more than 50 students, most of whom obtained advanced degrees in diverse fields including Economics, History, Law, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.

Dr. Samora's own research interests included the delivery of health services, rural populations in urban settings and the rural poor, Mexican immigration and the movement of Mexican Americans along the U.S.-Mexico border, population studies, and the educational status of youth and adults. He was the author or co-author of numerous articles and books, including Mexican-Americans in the Southwest (1969), Los Mojados: The Wetback Story (1971), A History of the Mexican-American People (1977), and Gunpowder Justice: A Reassessment of the Texas Rangers (1979).

Dr. Samora was an active participant in his academic, ethnic, and local communities throughout his life. He was co-founder, along with Ernesto Galarza and Herman Gallegos, of the Southwest Council of La Raza, now the National Council of La Raza. He served on boards or as a consultant to many organizations including, among others, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission, the Council on Foundations, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the John Hay Whitney Foundation, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, the President's Commission on Rural Poverty, the President's Commission on Income Maintenance Programs, the United States Bureau of the Census, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the United Way.

Dr. Samora received many honors and accolades during his lifetime. In 1985 he received the White House Hispanic Heritage Award. In 1989 Michigan State University founded the Julian Samora Research Institute, the first major university research center named for a Latino. In 1990 the Mexican government honored Dr. Samora, along with César Chávez and Américo Paredes, as the recipient of El Orden del Aguila Azteca, its highest civilian award given to non-Mexican citizens.

Dr. Julian Samora died on 2 February 1996 at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a long struggle with Progressive Supra Nuclear Palsy.

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Scope and Contents Note

Personal and biographical materials, correspondence, written works, organization records, research materials, photographs, audiovisual materials, and artifacts (1934-1989) document the life and career of Mexican American civil rights leader, educator, sociologist and anthropologist Dr. Julian Samora. The papers are arranged following as closely as possible Dr. Samora's original organization in ten series: Personal and Biographical, Correspondence, Activities and Organizations, Written Works, Research Projects, Photographs, Audiovisual Materials, Artifacts and Realia, the Julian Samora Library, and the Betty Samora Papers.

The first series,   Personal and Biographical, 1934-1989, is a small series that includes certificates received by Samora, diplomas and other educational documents, his curriculum vitae, financial documents, clippings about Samora, and calendars from years 1962 to 1982.

The second series,   Correspondence, 1943-1985, contains letters written to and by Dr. Samora. The files are primarily arranged alphabetically by individual or organization name, though there is also a chronological letter file kept by Samora for the years 1967-1984. Included among the many correspondents are Jorge Bustamante, Gilberto Cardenas, Ernesto Galarza, Herman Gallegos, Father Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame, Charles Loomis, George I. Sánchez, Lyle Saunders, Vicente T. Ximenes, and organizations the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the Journal of Mexican American History, the Rosenberg Foundation, and the John Hay Whitney Foundation. Other noted names present in the correspondence files include César Chávez, Senator Birch Bayh, and Hubert H. Humphrey.

The third series,   Activities and Organizations, 1966-1985, consists of files relating to organizations with which Samora was involved. The files contain more correspondence, but also printed materials, meeting minutes, publications and other records. Organizations represented include the Council on Foundations, the Ford Foundation (with which Samora worked on a population program, a U.S.-Mexico Border Project, and the Doctoral Program at Notre Dame), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the Southwest Council of La Raza/National Council of La Raza, the Bureau of the Census, and the University of Notre Dame. Records from the University of Notre Dame include information on courses given by Samora, correspondence with faculty and staff, and information on the Mexican American Graduate Studies Program and Mexican American Lecture Series.

Series four,   Written Works, 1943-1984, includes articles, books, book reviews, and manuscripts written by Samora. The works are arranged alphabetically by title. Also included in this series are manuscript drafts and research materials relating to some manuscript projects—specifically for Gunpowder Justice and A History of the Mexican American People—and notes written by Samora on various topics.

The fifth series,   Research Projects, 1956-1984, includes proposals, reports, data, and correspondence related to various researches done by Samora. These include oral histories of Mexican Americans in East Chicago—later used for his "Mexican Americans in a Midwest Metropolis," a National Study of Spanish Name (Spanish Speaking) People, and a study of Patient Characteristics in Denver General Hospital, among others.

The sixth series,   Photographs, 1965-1983, includes portrait photographs of Samora, a number of group photographs with Samora—including one with President Lyndon Baines Johnson and another at the 1968 Ford Foundation Population Conference in Italy—black-and-white and color snapshots, and various photos of other individuals, meetings, or related subjects.

Series seven,   Audiovisual Materials,1970-1981, contains primarily audio tapes of lectures by various Mexican American scholars and activists, many as part of the Mexican American Lecture Series at Notre Dame. Some of these cassette tapes are accompanied by printed transcripts.

Series eight consists of   Artifacts and Realia, 1965-1983, that appear to have come from Samora's office after his retirement in 1985. Materials include plaques, a name plate, a paperweight, a pen used by Lyndon Baines Johnson to sign legislation (pictured in on of the photographs in series six), and other similar items.

The ninth series, which makes up the second part of this finding guide, is the Julian Samora Library. This large series includes articles and reprints, and subject files collected over the years by Samora. These materials are listed alphabetically and present an extensive collection of works on Mexican Americans from the 1940s and 1950s through the 1980s. This series also includes various card files that present bibliographic information on these and other similar works.

The tenth and last series in the collection is a small group of   Betty Samora Papers, 1962-1979. These primarily include correspondence and a presentation and information on the Women's Council for Human Relations.

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Restrictions

Use Restrictions

Standard copyright restrictions apply.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Julian Samora Papers, Benson Latin American Collection, University Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin.

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Box and Folder Inventory

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