UTB/TSC professor recognized for crusade against border wall

BROWNSVILLE -- Eloisa Tamez has galvanized residents along the Rio Grande in her crusade against the border fence, filing seminal lawsuits against the federal government that have changed the very nature of the barrier's construction.

Her struggle has drawn media outlets from across the world to her tiny community of El Calaboz, and members of Congress have walked the levee behind her home, matching her stride for stride.

On Friday, the 73-year-old associate professor of nursing at the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College will receive the Henry B. González Award from the Texas Civil Rights Project in recognition of her willingness to stand up for the rights of border residents.

"This makes me energized to continue on," Tamez said, calling the award an "affirmation" of her ongoing campaign.

Founded in 1990 as part of Oficina Legal del Pueblo Unido, a nonprofit community-based foundation located in South Texas, the Texas Civil Rights Project seeks to promote racial, social and economic justice through education and litigation. The project presents the Henry B. González Award each year to an individual who has shown personal courage in representing his or her community.

The Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin describes the award's namesake - "Henry B." as he was known by many - as a highly revered and outspoken San Antonio congressman who established a national reputation for his public service and pursuit of economic justice and equality for all Americans.

Tamez has carried on that tradition in her struggle against the border fence. Of the hundreds of South Texans who live along the proposed path of the barrier, she has been by far the most vocal. Though she has pushed her neighbors to join her fight, she notes that many have resigned themselves to the government's plans.

"They're fatalistic," she said. "They fear the government because of the history of oppression along the border."

Tamez's family inherited her property from a Spanish land grant in 1847. Of the grant's original 12,000 acres, she now owns just three acres. The government plans to build a 15- to 18-foot-tall fence through the middle of the property.

Tamez's greatest challenge, she said, has been informing Rio Grande Valley residents in similar situations that "speaking up is not against the law."

It's a principle she first recognized at the age of 15, when she led the rancheria of El Calaboz in desegregation of public schools in Cameron County. She would later serve for 17 years in the U.S. Army Reserves before settling into her current position at UTB/TSC.

Tamez never expected her role as an activist would take off after her 70th birthday, but when she heard about the government's border fence plans, she acted swiftly.

"I may end up losing the land," she said, "but I'm going to be there until my last breath."