St. Mary’s University Graduate School Dean Henry Flores, Ph.D. is interviewed as an historical expert in the latest documentary of the critically acclaimed PBS series “The American Experience.” The latest story in the series “A Class Apart” tells the history of Latinos America, with focus on the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Hernandez v. Texas.

The landmark case argued that Mexican Americans were “a class apart” and did not neatly fit into a legal structure that recognized only black and white Americans. In 1954, the Court recognized Mexican Americans as a group, were protected under the 14th Amendment.

St. Mary’s University’s Dean Flores not only knew the lead lawyers that argued the monumental case, Gus García and Carlos Cadena, but also co-authored a book “Mexican Americans and the Law” with three other St. Mary’s professors (Associate Dean for Administration and Finance and Professor of Law Reynaldo Anaya Valencia, Assistant Professor of Political Science Sonia R. García, Ph.D., and José Roberto Juárez Jr., former professor of law at St. Mary’s School of Law).

In the documentary, Dean Flores adds personal perspective on García and Cadena, but also talks about the historical importance of this case in the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.

“A Class Apart” will air Monday, Feb. 23 on KLRN-TV at 9:00 p.m. For more information on the program, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/class/.

Event Details:

What:
“A Class Apart”
Featuring t. Mary’s University Graduate School Dean Henry Flores, Ph.D.

When:
Monday, Feb. 23
9:00 p.m.

Where:
KLRN-TV (local PBS affiliate)

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