To start off this blog, I would like to thank the writer, Gloria Anzaldúa, for the idea of the name of this blog. Anzaldúa had many great ideas for her time that often went unrecognized until recently. She writes about the seven stages of higher conciousness or processing information, which is called, “The Seven Stages of Conocimiento”. The Coatlicue State is a process where one faces thier opression and fears often through “higher conciousness”. This state of being calls me to reflect on some events that occur when working with public history.
Hemisfare Park is an example that comes to mind when thinking of histories going through the Stages of Conocimiento. The history of Hemisfare Park carries has many burdens in it’s history.
Hemisfare Park has an interesting history that I did not know until attending the “Save Texas History Symposium” last weekend. Dr. Laura Hernández-Ehrisman had a presentation about Hemisfare park and the US Commission of Civil Rights. The Institute of Texan Cultures has an exhibit celebrating the 50th annviersary of Hemisfare Park but Dr. Hernández-Ehrisman offers a different lense to look through. She shared the history of the neighborhood that was once there before filled with immigrants from all different backgrounds. Although the city tried to preserve some of the older homes by relocating the houses to a different piece of land however, hundreds of people were displaced and relocated. As people can recollect fond memories of the opening of Hemisfare, others have a confused and mixed-emotion feeling. Although it may seem too late for the city of San Antonio to reconcile, forgiveness can take many forms. The recognition of the neighborhood that once thrived where the land plot of Hemisfare Park helps the city confront what took place and the lack of consideration that politicians and city planners had. It also brings stories and histories of the old neighborhood to light, exposing a untold past that has been hidden for too long.
The irony of the Institute of Texan Cultures being on top of an old immigrant neighborhood is still mind blowing to me however, in the exhibit “Viva Hemisfare”, they is a photo and brief history about what was on the land before Hemisfare. And the fact that a scholar presented the story and scholars listened is the first step of acknowledging the destruction of a neighborhood.
One may read the story of the example I gave and think okay but how is the city of San Antonio or some of the building owner acknowledging the 1600 people who were displaced, besides an exhibit or a symposium where most attendees were in positions of privilege. I would argue that, this is the first step to transitioning into the Coatlicue State and people are beginning to acknowledge a history that has been literally destroyed. I believe that Public Historians can take on the emotional and physical labor of acknowledging the oppression and troubles because we have been given the tools to research and share the histories that we find and work with communities who need allies to help share their voice.
Here’s a link for a photo exhibit courtsey of San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation
I think the connection you made between the Coatlicue State and the history of Hemisphere is really fascinating. Its kinda of chilling in a way to imagine ones self in such a state of reflection not just related to hemisphere but other displaced areas in San Antonio as well. It actually had me thinking about another topic Ive been formulating for an up coming blog.
Super interesting!!
It’s kind of neat that you brought this forward right now. I’m currently reading about the celebrations around Hemisfare Park during the 1960’s, and the ways in which politicians, during times of crisis, would kind of point to it as sort of a unifying ‘war-cry’ against elements of ‘turmoil’, or as i’d put it – progress, in the city. I think this also relates to the ways in which it can be difficult for communities to directly confront injustices and fears, but do so by proxy. They focus their attentions on something else related to whatever the subject is and subconsciously think the original matter is closer to a resolution.
When it comes to controversial histories, the easy thing is always to go positive rather than negative. It’s far easier to celebrate than to mourn. It’s pretty ironic that something built for celebration trampled families, and displaced so many people. Great article.
I agree with Glory, I think with most sites the controversial history is usually glossed over. I think the addition of the Yanaguana Gardens to Hemisphere park is a step in the right direction. By incorporating artwork such as the ‘PanterAzul’, Native American history is interwoven into the park. However, I think as a society we need to get better at facing the controversial histories so that we can learn from them and stop making the same mistakes. I had never heard of the term “Coatlicue State” and I think that is so neat there is a term for this process. Very informative and well written post!