The roots of Eva Sandoval-Bonilla run deep in Fort Worth.
"I am the fourth generation here in Fort Worth on the same block of Weisenberger [Street]," said Sandoval-Bonilla. "They came to Fort Worth, my paternal grandparents, because of the railroad in the thirties."
Years of community service led to a park named in her late father's honor.
"My father, Jesse Domingo Sandoval, was committed to the community," Sandoval-Bonilla said. "He was poor, as all my family were that lived here. But he'd give up a day of his pay of labor to go serve on the Board of Standards Commission. All of our Latinos didn't speak English were losing their homes. They didn't understand that they had so many days to fix their homes or they'd lose them. So the only way to fix it was to be part of that solution. So he did."
It's stories like Sandoval-Bonilla's that graduate students from the History Department of Texas Christian University will soon collect as part of the Viva Mi Historia! program. Hispanic families can make appointments to be interviewed at two upcoming dates. Click on this sentence to learn more about the project. The materials gathered will help build a multi-media archive at the Fort Worth Library.
Sandoval-Bonilla is looking forward to her family taking part, including her 90-year-old uncle.
"They do not realize the wealth and the trailblazing that they did," Sandoval-Bonilla said. "They don't know, or no one has ever affirmed their commitment to why they were here."
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"Their generation was to be quiet and go under the wire. And I'm proud of what they've accomplished because it's what we are because of them and because of their risk taking. And I want them to be acknowledged."
The oral history collection will take place:
September 26 at the Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhoods from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
and October 17 at North Side High School from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
To schedule an appointment to be interviewed during one of those days, call 817-392-8434.
