Texas Murders Revisited

into Porvenir, a Latino farming community on the Texas side of the Rio Grande River. The interlopers seized 15 sleeping men and boys out of their beds and on a nearby hill executed them. Porvenir emptied, but survivors never forgot. The slayings were said to be vengeance for a cross-border raid by Mexicans that killed three. However, descendants of the murder victims say the killings were part of a campaign in Texas against people of Mexican descent. Advocates persuaded the Texas Historical Commission to approve an official marker memorializing the event. However, in August the Presidio County Historical Committee postponed production of the marker to review the wording of its message. Each year since 2006, Texas, a leader in refocusing historical memory, has been recognizing 15 obscure or forgotten Texan individuals, places, and events. Selections in 2018 for the state program included Dixie Freedom Colony near Port Arthur, an example of unincorporated communities of African-Americans who settled in Texas after the Civil War.