Jovita Idar.
Helaine Victoria Press, Jovita Idar (1885-1946) [postcard], 1986. W075_029, Feminist Postcard Collection, Archives for Research on Women and Gender. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University.
Leonor Villegas de Magnon and Jovita Idar.
Leonor Villegas de Magnon and Jovita Idar, March 17, 1913. USTA Libraries Special Collections Digital Collections.
Jovita Idar was born on September 7, 1885, in Laredo, Texas. Laredo was a town on the United States-Mexico border. At the time, people were able to move freely across the border and the region was populated with a mix of Mexican Americans who had lived in the region since before the US-Mexico War, immigrants and migrants from Mexico, and white settlers. Jovita’s parents, Nicasio Idar and Jovita Vivero Gômez, were both of Mexican descent. Jovita was the second of their eight children.
Jovita had more opportunities than the majority of the Mexican and Mexican American children in her area because her father owned and published a Spanish-language newspaper called La Crónica. Nicasio and Jovita Vivero made sure that their children understood their privilege. They encouraged them to learn about the range of issues affecting the Mexican American community and form their own opinions. Jovita attended school from an early age and excelled as a student. She graduated with her teaching certification at eighteen.
Jovita took a job at a school in the tiny town of Los Ojuelos, Texas. At that time, Texas segregated students into white, Black, and Mexican schools. The schools for Black and Mexican students received significantly less funding than the schools for white students. Jovita’s school lacked basic supplies like paper, pencils, books, and desks. She was frustrated by her inability to help her students, so she decided to leave teaching and write for La Crónica.
When Jovita joined the staff of La Crónica, the majority of Laredo’s population was of Mexican descent. But there was a growing population of white settlers who were eager to control the region. Racism was on the rise. Violent incidents were becoming more common. La Crónica published articles to raise awareness about the growing threat. Jovita contributed articles about a variety of issues, but her favorite topics were gender equality and the importance of protecting her community’s cultural identity.
Jovita believed that education was key to achieving economic mobility. But she disliked how white communities used public education to “Americanize” immigrants and people of color. She shared her experiences teaching in a segregated school. She advocated for bilingual education so that immigrant and migrant students could receive a solid education while remaining connected to their heritage. Jovita promoted the education of women and girls and championed the cause of women’s suffrage. She also wanted to see advances in the safety and wages for women in the workforce.
In 1911 Jovita and her family organized El Primer Congreso Mexicanista (the First Mexican Congress). El Congreso brought together men and women who wanted to fight for the fair and equal treatment of people of Mexican heritage. Representatives included local leaders, activists, and journalists from the border region. The event lasted several days. The program included speeches, performances, and other events celebrating Mexican heritage and critiquing anti-Mexican racism.
“Jovita disliked how white communities used public education to ‘Americanize’ immigrants and people of color.”
After El Congreso, Jovita and other women activists formed La Liga Femenil Mexicanista (the League of Mexican Women). Jovita was chosen to be La Liga’s first president. La Liga fought for the rights of all Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but they had a particular focus on issues important to women and girls. They offered study sessions and opened free bilingual schools. They organized clothing drives and raised money to help families in need. La Liga also hosted cultural events to celebrate Mexican heritage. The majority of members were working-class women interested in uplifting their community. La Liga believed that national borders should not separate women and that women on both sides of the border had the same needs, so they offered their services in both Laredo, Texas, and its sister city Nuevo Laredo, just across the border.
In 1910 the Mexican Revolution kicked off a decade of armed conflict in the country. Many Mexicans moved to Laredo to escape the violence. One of Jovita’s closest friends, Leonor Villegas de Magnón, was forced to flee because of her father’s role in the revolution. When the fighting reached Nuevo Laredo, Leonor recruited women willing to cross the border and care for wounded revolutionaries. She named the group La Cruz Blanca (the White Cross). Eager to help, Jovita signed on to be the secretary of La Cruz Blanca. She recruited members and treated soldiers, traveling as far as Mexico City in her work.
Jovita returned to Laredo in 1914 and started writing for a newspaper called El Progreso. Jovita liked El Progreso’s strong political stance and vocal support of the revolutionaries in Mexico. Shortly after Jovita joined the paper, El Progreso published an article that criticized the US’ military involvement in Mexico’s revolution. A group of Texas Rangers arrived to shut down the paper, claiming the article was anti-American. Jovita blocked the Rangers at the print shop’s entrance. She argued that the newspaper was protected by the First Amendment. The Texas Rangers had a reputation for violent acts against Mexicans and Mexican Americans, so Jovita was taking a huge risk by standing up to them. The Rangers left, but they returned the next day when Jovita was not at work and destroyed the newspaper’s presses.
In 1917 Jovita married Bartolo Juárez and moved to San Antonio, Texas. Jovita stepped back from journalism after her marriage, but she continued to be an activist. She and Bartolo founded a Democratic Club and became political leaders in their community. Jovita helped establish a free kindergarten, served as a Spanish translator at the county hospital, supported immigrants seeking naturalization, and taught hygiene and childcare classes to women. Jovita died on June 3, 1946, in San Antonio.
Vocabulary
- bilingual: Able to communicate in two languages.
- First Amendment: The first amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of speech and of the press.
- hygiene: Cleanliness and healthy behaviors.
- lynching: The extralegal execution of a person by a mob.
- naturalization: The process by which someone becomes a citizen of a country they were not born in.
- Rio Grande: A river that runs along the US border between Texas and Mexico.
- US-Mexico War: The 1846–1848 war over the lands north of the Rio Grande.
Discussion Questions
- Jovita Idar was a lifelong advocate for education, but she quit her job as a teacher at a young age. Why do you think she chose a career as a journalist instead?
- Why was bilingual education so important to Jovita Idar?
- Jovita helped found two organizations—the Liga Femenil Mexicanista and La Cruz Blanca—that worked in both Texas and Mexico. Why do you think she felt it was important to fight for civil rights in both countries?
Suggested Activities
- AP Government Connection: 3.10: Social movements and equal protection
- Explore the experience of Mexican and Mexican American women during this era. Read Jovita’s life story in combination with the story of the El Paso laundry strike.
- Compare the life stories of Jovita Idar Juárez and Zitkala-Ša. How did each woman work to legitimize her culture and resist xenophobic policies and belief systems? How did the issue of education play a role in each woman’s work?
- Combine Jovita’s life story with the life stories of Ida B. Wells, Elizabeth Cochrane (aka Nellie Bly), and Edith Maude Eaton, all of whom used a career in journalism to advocate for social reform.
Themes
ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP
