PHOTO: IMAGE OF NEWCOMB SMILING AT CAMERA Photo courtesy of Lydia Quinones Newcomb, graduate student. — Lydia Quinones Newcomb, a Cross-Cultural Studies major, makes her debut exhibition. Photo courtesy of Lydia Q. Newcomb

Graduate student presents exhibition covering history of Mexican-American activism in Houston

By Ashley Alaniz On Apr 1, 2019 197 0

FLYER: ¡Ya Basta! is an exhibit highlighting the history of Mexican-American activism in Houston. Flyer courtesy of Lydia Quiñones Newcomb. — ¡Ya Basta! is an exhibit highlighting the history of Mexican-American activism in Houston. Flyer courtesy of Lydia Quiñones Newcomb.

An upcoming exhibition is coming to the Houston area that will include a collection of highlights of Mexican-American activists and influencers that generated change in the Houston community. Presented by Lydia Quinones Newcomb, cross-cultural and global studies graduate student, the exhibit entitled ¡Ya Basta! will be on display at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) April 4.

Newcomb’s interest in Mexican-American history originated when she interned as a volunteer at the HMRC in 2017. As an intern, she had the opportunity to meet and assist Ruth Ann Skaff, an Arab community activist, by organizing Skaff’s collection of historical Arab material. This experience led her to become interested in learning more about the archival process and working directly on the Mexican-American archival collections.

“I have realized through my graduate work, especially, how there is a rich history of Mexican-Americans that is not told in history books,” Newcomb said. “There are Mexican-American history classes at the undergraduate level in higher education in general, but they don’t teach the information that I have learned in my graduate work. Experiencing first-hand discovery items in the archival collection has opened my eyes further to leaders in the Mexican-American community.”

Newcomb is currently completing her internship at HMRC this year and was given the opportunity to present this exhibition as her graduate project. The concept of the ¡Ya Basta! exhibit began as a presentation she created in Christine Kovic’s, professor of anthropology, undergraduate course titled, “People of Mexico and Central America” in 2018, which was the catalyst to her now upcoming exhibit.

Newcomb’s inspiration of the Mexican-American community and its struggles comes from her passion in cultural expression through the arts.

“What motivates me is Mexican-American and Latino historical context through cultural expression such as public art,” Newcomb said.

Growing up, Newcomb was motivated by a seventh-grade band teacher at her junior high school, who offered solace at a challenging time in her life.

“She was there for me during a very difficult time when our mother fell ill and had brain surgery,” Newcomb said. “She mentored me as a teacher and encouraged me in my studies. I kept in touch with her even after I got married and had our first kids.”

However, she learned years later, she would be faced with a different type of adversity. Newcomb was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and endured a year full of doctor’s visits, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and a mastectomy.

“It was during this time that I took Public Culture with Dr. Curtis and then Anthropology of Food with Dr. Christine Kovic,” Newcomb said. “My studies became a lifeline for me during this time. What I was learning and researching for my senior papers introduced me to the Cross-Cultural Studies program and Anthropology. I graduated in May of 2015 and at the time, I had an interest in graduate studies, but I was not really at a point health-wise to consider graduate work.”

After some much needed time off to recover, Newcomb was ready to continue her education. She decided to pursue graduate school and enrolled at UHCL’s Cross-Cultural Studies. Through much research, she determined that UHCL had a unique Cross-Cultural Studies program that was unlike any in the region. Exhibiting ¡Ya Basta! as her graduate project gave Newcomb a new insight and an opportunity to prosper.

Black and white cartoon depicting rats, police brutality and all white juries - all on top on the headlines of various Houston publications. Photo courtesy of Lydia Quinones Newcomb, graduate student. — Cartoons are among the various art pieces displayed in Newcomb’s exhibition. Photo courtesy of Lydia Quinones Newcomb, graduate student.

The ¡Ya Basta! exhibit will include historical photos and documents from The Minimum Wage March of 1966, documents from the Moody Park Riots, Huelga “Strike” schools, and original political cartoon artwork from Houston photographer Alfonso Vasquez. The pieces from the exhibit are currently archived in the HMRC and are contained in archived boxes organized by collection type. Newcomb works alongside Mexican-American collections archivist Mika Selley to obtain pieces for the exhibit.

While researching and obtaining pieces to include for the exhibit, Newcomb had the pleasure of learning more about Mexican-American activism.

“One of the biggest surprises was learning of the Minimum Wage March of 1966 that started in the Rio Grande Valley on Memorial Day and culminated on Labor Day on the steps of the State Capitol in Austin,” Newcomb said.

Out of all the pieces, Newcomb’s favorite piece belongs to Alfonso Vasquez, a political cartoonist who often produced work making controversial statements.

“My favorite picture is a drawing known in the HMRC as the ‘Sleeping Giant’ drawing,” Newcomb said. “It is actually a photograph of the artwork that depicts a giant that is lying down and tied over the map of Texas and he is yawning as his arms are breaking chains that say ‘apathy.’ Across his chest says ‘Mexican-American voting power.’ There is a man calling out ‘Vote!’ as he holds a rolled up paper that says ‘vote’ on it.”

Newcomb is set to graduate this year in May. After graduation, she plans on continuing her education and getting into student services or teaching.

Should she become a teacher, Newcomb would like to teach classes in cultural anthropology or Mexican-American culture. In addition, she is contemplating a Ph.D. In the meantime, she plans to take it easy and enjoy her time off as she completes another milestone in her life.

“Lydia carried out a wonderful research project in a Master of Arts seminar on Mexico, Central America, and Borderlands addressing Latina activism and art,” Kovic said. “My undergraduates and I had the treat of a preview of her current exhibit when she presented a slideshow to discuss Latina/o activism in our city and in Texas in my class last semester. It was great to hear her present on the important history of Latina/o civil rights activism in Houston. I can’t wait to view her exhibit. She’s done so much research on the topic, both through the archives at the Julia Ideson Building in the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) and through academic sources.“

¡Ya Basta! is free to the public and will be presented at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center in the Julie Ideson Building, 550 McKinney Street, Houston, Texas, on April 4, from 6-7:30 p.m.