Joaquin Castro says San Antonio is a ‘quintessential example of Latino contributions’ to the U.S.

San Antonio Congressman Castro is highlighting his hometown in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Castro shared his full statement on the September 15 to October 15 observation of Hispanic American contributions to the country’s culture and achievements on Twitter Wednesday. He took the opportunity to tell the internet what his city has given society.

“My hometown of San Antonio is a quintessential example of Latino contributions to the United States,” his tweet reads. “I’m proud of San Antonio’s legacy of standing up for civil rights, voting rights, equal opportunity, and the fair representation of Latinos in Texas and nationwide.”

Castro and his twin brother, former San Antonio Mayor and U.S. HUD Secretary Julián Castro, are two of the city’s more recent contributions to the country in a long line of local leaders who changed the U.S.

The tweet is an excerpt from his full statement, which can be read here. In it, Joaquin Castro points to specific times in history when San Antonio stepped up, like the SAISD v. Rodriguez case. Though unsuccessful at the U.S. Supreme Court level, the lawsuit, fronted by Demetrio Rodriguez, whom the case is named after, and a group of Edgewood Independent School District parents including Alberta Snid, Martín Cantú and Reynaldo Castaño, changed how state lawmakers looked at inequities in school finance.

Willie Velasquez, also from the Edgewood community, played a crucial role in Latino voting rights through his nonpartisan group, the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP).

San Antonians also made an impact on labor rights issues. In the 1930s, 21-year-old Emma Tenayuca led a strike of 12,000 shellers against pecan plants after they attempted to cut already dismal wages. Today, the strikes are respected as some of the first and largest actions in the fight for Mexican-American civil rights in U.S. history.

And before Julián Castro sat in the HUD Secretary office, a fellow San Antonian, Henry Cisneros, was there. Cisneros is credited for contributing to the nation’s sharp rise in home ownership rates.

These are just a few names in San Antonio’s history that worked to improve the lives of Latinos and Americans overall. The Alamo City is home to change makers in art, policy, and activism who are continuing the legacy of elevating the Latino American experience for future generations.