Mexican American Odyssey: Felix Tijerina, Entrepreneur & Civic Leader, 1905-1965 (University of Houston Series in Mexican American Studies)

Rating:
Summary: A Visionary Mexican-American Leader
Review: This is the definitive biography of an astonishing Mexican-American. 4 time LULAC president Felix Tijerina was born in Mexico, and came to Houston speaking no English. After he built a Tex-Mex restaurant empire, he turned his attention to the plight of his fellow Mexican-Americans. Spanish-speaking kids failed out of school in huge numbers at the time. Tijerina thought if they had a few words of English, they might do better. So he spent his own money to hire tutors to teach kids 400 words of English before they entered kindergarten. LBJ adopted his "little schools of 400" and made them the model for the Headstart Program--one of the most successful Federal programs in history.
Kreneck's dedication to an accurate telling of Mexican-American history has been an inspiration to me.