Ezequiel D. Salinas
Encyclopedia
Ezequiel David Salinas, Sr. (March 20, 1908 - March 13, 2007), was a Mexican American
Democratic
state court judge
from Laredo
, the seat of Webb County
in south Texas
, known for his advocacy of civil rights
for the Hispanic
community. In the late 1940s, Salinas was defeated in a race for the Texas House of Representatives
but was instead elected to the 111th District Court in 1950. He served in the position until 1974.
Salinas was born to Ezequiel Salinas (1883-1976) and the former Luisa Gonzalez (1888-1972) of Laredo. He attended public schools and graduated from the former Laredo High School, thereafter Martin High School
before he headed for the University of Texas to study law
. He was awarded an E.D. Farmer International Scholarship
in international law
at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
in Mexico City
.
He wrote numerous articles on civil rights during the early years of his law practice. In 1939, Salinas became the eleventh president, and the first Laredoan, of the national interest group, the League of United Latin American Citizens
. In 1955, another prominent Laredoan, Oscar M. Laurel
, assumed the LULAC presidency for a single one-year term. During the 1940s and 1950s, Salinas worked to establish LULAC chapters in parts of Texas where none had previously existed. He was instrumental in persuading contemporaries in Austin to rid Texas of the poll tax
, which was finally ended nationally through the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution
coupled with the Harper v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1966.
From 1935 to 1942, Salinas was an assistant district attorney
in Webb County. He was also the attorney for the Laredo Housing
Authority. In the latter capacity, Salinas worked to establish the first affordable housing complex in Laredo, located at the intersection of Park Street and Interstate 35
.
Odie Arambula, of the Laredo Morning Times
, refers to a 1937 newspaper
article in the then Laredo Times which described Salinas as "one of the brightest young men in Laredo fitted for the great future that appears in store for him."
At the outbreak of World War II
, Salinas joined the U. S. Foreign Service and was a special assistant to the ambassador
in Montevideo
, Uruguay
.
Salinas' former 111th court shared concurrent jurisdiction with the original 49th District Court. Salinas was assigned mostly civil cases and doubled as the juvenile court
.
Salinas challenged Webb County government during a dispute in the 1960s in which he charged that the county commissioners were not adhering to state law in certain operations, as recommended by the county auditor, who was an appointee of the district court. He and the judge of the 49th District Court embroiled in a dispute with the county judge and commissioners in proceedings that news accounts called the "Battle of the Judges". In one instance, Arambula recalled that Judge Salinas summoned more than fifty business and civic leaders to hear testimony in a court of inquiry into operations of the Webb County road
and bridge
department. Salinas also presided over an investigation into management of a juvenile detention facility which was operated as part of the county jail.
Salinas was preceded in death by his first wife, Elvira Salinas (1909-1982); a daughter, Elvira Luisa, and a son, Dr. E. D. Salinas, Jr. (1938-1992). Survivors included his second wife, Angelina Casso de Salinas (born ca. 1913); his son and daughter-in-law, Edward R. Salinas, Cira R Salinas and granddaughter, Cira E Salinas. Other surviving grandchildren include Dr Ezequiel D Salinas the third Christina Salinas Castillon and Dr Adriana Salinas Gonzalez.
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state court judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
from Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, the seat of Webb County
Webb County, Texas
Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The official 2010 population for the county is 250,304. In 2000, its population was 193,117, and in 2006 its population had been estimated to have reached to 231,470. Its county seat is Laredo...
in south Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, known for his advocacy of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
for the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
community. In the late 1940s, Salinas was defeated in a race for the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
but was instead elected to the 111th District Court in 1950. He served in the position until 1974.
Salinas was born to Ezequiel Salinas (1883-1976) and the former Luisa Gonzalez (1888-1972) of Laredo. He attended public schools and graduated from the former Laredo High School, thereafter Martin High School
Martin High School (Laredo, Texas)
Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, known as Martin High School, is a secondary institution of learning located in the Laredo Independent School District in Laredo, Texas. Grades 9th through 12th are taught there. It serves students living in central Laredo...
before he headed for the University of Texas to study law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. He was awarded an E.D. Farmer International Scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
in international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
He wrote numerous articles on civil rights during the early years of his law practice. In 1939, Salinas became the eleventh president, and the first Laredoan, of the national interest group, the League of United Latin American Citizens
League of United Latin American Citizens
The League of United Latin American Citizens was created to combat the discrimination that Hispanics face in the United States. Established February 17, 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas, LULAC was a consolidation of smaller, like-minded civil rights groups already in existence...
. In 1955, another prominent Laredoan, Oscar M. Laurel
Oscar M. Laurel
Oscar Manuel Laurel, Sr., was a U.S. attorney, businessman, and Hispanic Democratic politician from Laredo, Texas, whose legendary oratory excited his party's faithful. "He had a great talent for words," said Hector Garcia, a former Laurel business partner. Vidal M. Trevino, late superintendent of...
, assumed the LULAC presidency for a single one-year term. During the 1940s and 1950s, Salinas worked to establish LULAC chapters in parts of Texas where none had previously existed. He was instrumental in persuading contemporaries in Austin to rid Texas of the poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
, which was finally ended nationally through the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
coupled with the Harper v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1966.
From 1935 to 1942, Salinas was an assistant district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in Webb County. He was also the attorney for the Laredo Housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
Authority. In the latter capacity, Salinas worked to establish the first affordable housing complex in Laredo, located at the intersection of Park Street and Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
.
Odie Arambula, of the Laredo Morning Times
Laredo Morning Times
The Laredo Morning Times is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation.The Laredo Morning Times was founded on June 14, 1881 as "the Laredo Weekly," a four-page newspaper published by James Saunders Penn. Two years later, the paper became a...
, refers to a 1937 newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
article in the then Laredo Times which described Salinas as "one of the brightest young men in Laredo fitted for the great future that appears in store for him."
At the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Salinas joined the U. S. Foreign Service and was a special assistant to the ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
.
Salinas' former 111th court shared concurrent jurisdiction with the original 49th District Court. Salinas was assigned mostly civil cases and doubled as the juvenile court
Juvenile court
A juvenile court is a tribunal having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority...
.
Salinas challenged Webb County government during a dispute in the 1960s in which he charged that the county commissioners were not adhering to state law in certain operations, as recommended by the county auditor, who was an appointee of the district court. He and the judge of the 49th District Court embroiled in a dispute with the county judge and commissioners in proceedings that news accounts called the "Battle of the Judges". In one instance, Arambula recalled that Judge Salinas summoned more than fifty business and civic leaders to hear testimony in a court of inquiry into operations of the Webb County road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
and bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
department. Salinas also presided over an investigation into management of a juvenile detention facility which was operated as part of the county jail.
Salinas was preceded in death by his first wife, Elvira Salinas (1909-1982); a daughter, Elvira Luisa, and a son, Dr. E. D. Salinas, Jr. (1938-1992). Survivors included his second wife, Angelina Casso de Salinas (born ca. 1913); his son and daughter-in-law, Edward R. Salinas, Cira R Salinas and granddaughter, Cira E Salinas. Other surviving grandchildren include Dr Ezequiel D Salinas the third Christina Salinas Castillon and Dr Adriana Salinas Gonzalez.