EXHIBIT - Cisneros V. Corpus Christi ISD: The Long Fight to End School Segregation

Explore MACRI’s new traveling exhibit, CISNEROS V. CORPUS CHRISTI ISD: THE LONG FIGHT TO END SCHOOL SEGREGATION.

In 1968, José Cisneros and twenty-five other Mexican American parents sued Corpus Christi Independent School District for illegally segregating Mexican American students into poorly maintained and under-resourced schools separate from Anglo schools. The court found that the school district was intentionally segregating students and ordered Corpus Christi ISD to integrate its schools. This landmark decision for Mexican American civil rights extended the same protections of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to Mexican American students, nearly a quarter of a century later.

Learn about the history of Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD (1970), the people behind the case, and how it fits into larger legal struggles to improve Mexican American access to public education.

The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, September 27 to Wednesday, November 26, 2025.

The exhibit gallery will be open Monday through Friday, 10 AM—NOON and 1 – 4 PM, or by appointment.

MACRI’s programs are funded in part by the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture, Bexar County, the Mellon Foundation, the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, Spurs Give, and individual donors like you! Gracias!