Jovita Idar Vivero- The Mexican Civil Rights Advocate
Jovita Idar Vivero (September 7, 1885 – June 15, 1946), was a passionate speaker and advocator for a group that is still marginalized and misrepresented to this day. Jovita Idár was born in Laredo, Texas, in 1885. The parents of Idár were Jovita and Nicasio Idár, She had 8 other siblings. Her dad Nicasio, a newspaper publisher, and advocate of civil rights. Idár had been exposed to journalism and civic advocacy from her youth. She attended a Methodist School in Texas named the Holding Institute, where she obtained a teaching degree in 1903.
Idár started teaching immediately but left quickly because of segregation and inadequate opportunities for Mexican-American students. Chicanos paid taxes to fund their children's decent education but were rejected admission to colleges. Idar was mindful of the poorly built segregated schools where her teaching efforts had no effect on student lives.
During these days, abuse and lynching were also mostly witnessed by the Mexican-American population in Texas. Idár began working at La Crónica, her father's magazine, The paper was a source of Mexican-American rights coverage and advocacy. She often published posts on discrimination and supporting the Mexican revolution. Idár and her family organized the First Mexican Congress in 1911 to pull people across borders together in order to combat injustice. The conference addressed a variety of topics such as schooling and scarcity of economic opportunities.
"Working women know their rights and proudly rise to face the struggle. The hour of their degradation is past. Women are no longer servants but rather the equals of men, companions to them."- Jovita Idar Vivero
Idár and her brothers have been promoting women's rights and have continued to publish in a favorable aspect of women's suffrage. In October 1911 she created La Liga Feminil Mexicaista and became its first president (the League of Mexican Women). This feminist group began its campaign by offering education to students in Mexico.
Some years on after the Mexican Revolution, Idár wanted to go to Mexico in the care of the wounded. She was an nurse and finally joined La Cruz Blanca, an organisation close to the Red Cross.
She returned to Texas later that year and started writing for the El Progreso newspaper. When she was in that place, she wrote an article in which she criticized the decision of President Woodrow Wilson to ship US troops to the border, And they didn't like her talking, so they went to the offices of El Progreso to close it down.
Idár wrote and defended Mexican Americans for equal justice. When her father passed away in 1914, she went back to La Crónica and then became a newspaper operator. A couple of years later, Idár married Bartolo Juárez and moved to San Antonio, Texas. She became involved in the Democratic Party of Texas and advocated equal opportunities for women.
Idár's twin passions for democratic freedom of speech were almost as fiery as her belief in equal justice for Mexican-American women, and she channeled her passions into direct action and tireless effort. She used the free press to guide her wish for equal rights and justice throughout her life until her death in 1946 and her wish for a prosperous world was not permitted to be slackened by government repression.