From the University of Texas at Austin to Yale to Berkeley, Dr. David Montejano, B.A. ‘70, is an award-winning historian and professor whose research has taken him to the East, West, and Gulf coasts – and back again. Now retired from higher education, David has returned to his hometown in San Antonio with his wife, Veronica Montejano, M.A. ‘94. David describes his academic journey as a rollercoaster. “I call it my rollercoaster career,” he explains, “because there’s been ups and downs.”
David enrolled at Texas State University in 1966. Dissatisfied with Texas State’s racially divided campus, David transferred to the University of Texas at Austin a year later to complete his bachelor’s degree with a double major in sociology and political science. He felt that a major in sociology would offer answers to the questions he had growing up as a Tejano in San Antonio. A strike for humane working conditions by migrant workers in Starr County, Texas also triggered his interest in his field of research. David joined them in their protest and took part in a 490-mile march from the Rio Grande Valley to Austin.
After graduating, David pursued a graduate degree in sociology at Yale with the intention to further his interest in Mexican American studies. He started his dissertation on the Chicano movement which he continued to be involved in as a student at UT. Halfway through completing his dissertation, David was offered a job by UC Berkeley.
“Berkeley comes knocking at my door,” he recalls, “but [my] advisor says ‘don’t go, you’re not ready.’” Despite the dissertation committee’s warning not to transfer to Berkeley and miss his deadline, David decided to pack his bags and move to the West Coast. “I told [the committee] ‘I am tired of New England weather,’ and went to talk about the cold and overcast skies of New Haven. ‘I’m going to California. I want to be there.’” He ultimately missed his deadline. Berkeley did not rehire him. David then switched gears and transferred to UC Santa Cruz to successfully complete his dissertation. Santa Cruz then chose not to rehire him.
Frustrated with academia, David returned to San Antonio to pursue additional research and participate in local community organizations, but did not stay in Texas for long. He accepted a position at the University of New Mexico. During his time at UNM, he converted his dissertation into a book, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836- 1986, which earned David the 1988 Frederick Jackson Turner Award. Then came a call from The University of Texas at Austin.
In 1989, David accepted a position as professor of history at UT and then as Director of Mexican American Studies. He then met his to-be wife, Veronica Montejano, who received her MA in Art History from UT. David once again returned to Berkeley (to “vindicate” his original dissertation, he says) and taught for another 20 years. From that dissertation sprung two additional books, Chicano Politics and Society in the Late Twentieth Century and Quixote’s Soldiers: A Local History of the Chicano Movement, 1966–1981.
“I enjoyed teaching,” David jokes, “but once I retired, I retired.” David and Veronica spent a few more years in Berkeley while Veronica taught and served as principal of the Oakland Unified School Districts. Now retired from academia, they’ve officially moved back to San Antonio. But David’s work isn’t done just yet. He has a new job: urban gardening.
“I needed a break from the books,” he says. “We bought a few lots in San Antonio that used to be a baseball field. They were overgrown with ‘trash trees,’ mesquite, and hackberries.” The two have been toiling in the hot Texas sun for over a year to clear the shrubbery in an effort to start an urban garden. While they have some time to go until the plots will be ready, they hope to start planting as soon as possible. Even better, they hope to open a farmer’s market in the future. “But we still have a lot to learn about the land,” Veronica says. The pursuit of learning is never over for these two long-time teachers.
Looking back on his time as a student and teacher at UT, David reflects on the importance of on-campus libraries in his research. “As an undergrad, the library was in the tower,” he explains. “You could roam the stacks and smell the books while you were up there.” He describes the libraries as his essential “go-to place” while writing his dissertation. “Having written three books on Texas, I mean, I couldn’t have done that without the Benson or the Briscoe.” He specifically recalls uncovering records of Tejano activists at the Benson, including the personal papers of Eleuterio Escobar, a Laredo-born civil rights activist who advocated to eliminate educational inequality. These resources were invaluable in conducting his research on Mexican American community organization.
This past year, David and Veronica established the Montejano Benson Collection Research Award to support researchers studying materials housed at the Benson Latin American Collection. Thanks to the Ann Hartness Matching Fund, this gift will be that much more helpful for the visiting scholars undertaking research on Mexican American and Latino history. David has already donated many of his papers to the Benson Collection, further solidifying him as a vital figure in the field.
Information regarding the application for the award will be made available in the future. In the meantime, David’s generous contribution will help support groundbreaking research taking place at the Benson and its constant commitment to preservation, visibility, and inclusivity. “I want others to have the same experience I had at the Benson,” David explains. “Many histories have yet to be told.”
David’s advice to researchers who are pursuing Mexican American studies is to “get in there and be curious.” Veronica laughs in agreement. “One of David’s guilty pleasures is watching those shows about gold miners,” she says. “I think it’s completely analogous to his experience in the archives because he would come home and say, ‘well, I didn’t find gold,’ or ‘I found a nugget today!’” She explains that his work is slow and steady, much like chipping away at rock until uncovering a gem inside.
David concurs that any scholar that is interested in this kind of research should always keep looking for those “nuggets.” The two agree that although research requires perseverance, the reward – gold or insight – is what makes the hard work worthwhile. David wishes to instill this passion in future scholars by passing down the torch of research (or, in this case, the mining pickaxe) to the next generation of learners.
