The Mexican American Museum of Texas (TMAMT) is the first of its kind in the state dedicated solely to the Mexican American experience within nine cultural regions in Texas. Founded in 2022, the museum will provide a home to share and celebrate our unique experience with its Indigenous, Afro, Spanish, Mexican and Tejano roots, an experience and history that is foundational to what makes Texas the great state that it is today.
Eight community leaders, all of whom are members of various non-profit Hispanic organizations including Dallas Mexican American Historical League (DMAHL), the Hispanic Organization for Genealogy and Research (HOGAR de Dallas), Dallas Legacy Mission, Inc. and The Last Patrol, joined forces to establish TMAMT.
The museum will be in Dallas, and location options are currently being considered as programming is planned and implemented. The goal of the museum is to tell our stories in our own words and through our own perspective. A future permanent collection, along with visiting collections from all regions of Texas, will serve as the foundation for vibrant and educational cultural activities.
TMAMT is currently developing relationships with leaders from around the state to ensure that all regions are thoughtfully engaged. We seek representatives from each region to write their own stories and gather artifacts that best represent their regional experiences. TMAMT will provide a home for all these stories and items so that a visitor can learn, in a single location, about the broad trajectory of the Mexican American experience, from its past to the present and into the future.
Our current exhibit, Life & Death on the Border 1910-1920, opened on May 5, 2024 at the University of Dallas’ Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery. The exhibit was produced by the Bullock Texas State History Museum in partnership with the Refusing to Forget Project, an award-winning educational nonprofit. TMAMT, in collaboration with the Latin American Studies at the University of Dallas, has brought this important exhibit to the North Texas area for the first time.
The exhibit explores the decade of great violence and upheaval along the Texas-Mexican border. It also examines the causes and effects of state-sanctioned racial violence against ethnic Mexicans during this period and explores the actions that Mexican Americans took to advance the cause for justice and civil rights.
“The exhibit Life and Death on the Border 1910-1920 is an important reminder of the history of the borderlands and the people who have lived there. The exhibit highlights the resilience and determination of the Mexican American community in the face of adversity. It also explores the problematic legacy of the 1910-1920 decade for the border region, a legacy which can still be felt today. Most importantly, the exhibit is an important and timely exhibit that sheds light on a dark chapter in American history and reminds us of the importance of standing up for justice and equality for all people.” - TMAMT board member Dr. Ruben Arellano, PhD
By Gus N. Hinojosa
TMAMT President
THF President & CEO David Preziosi and Board Members Bob and Sunny Bettis present THF's recent grant to members of The Mexican American Museum of Texas board.
TMAMT’s founding members are Gustavo (Gus) N. Hinojosa, president; Juanita H. Nuñez, vice-president; Linda Ramírez, secretary; Alex Martínez, treasurer; David Treviño, Robert Ramírez, Albert González and Ruben Arellano, Ph.D. We hail from various cities around Texas, aligning with our focus of representing all regions of Texas. The founding Board members include historians, educators, architects, engineers, and businesspersons.
The Mexican American Museum of Texas is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Visit The Mexican American Museum of Texas website for more information.
