Crystal City, Texas

How Crystal City is governed

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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

cityofcrystalcity.com

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Population over time

From 7,138 in 2010 to 6,354 in 2020 (−11.0%).

History

Crystal City was founded in 1907.

Farming, ranching, railroad

Crystal City was originally settled by American farmers and ranchers producing cattle and various crops.

The successful production of spinach evolved into a dominant industry. By March 26, 1937, the growers had erected a statue of the cartoon character Popeye in the town because his reliance on spinach for strength led to greater popularity for the vegetable, which had become a staple cash crop of the local economy. Early in its history, the area known as the "Winter Garden District" was deemed the "Spinach Capital of the World" (a title contested by Alma, Arkansas). The first Spinach Festival was held in 1936. It was put on hold during World War II and later years. The festival resumed in 1982. The Spinach Festival is traditionally held on the second weekend in November, and draws former residents (many of them former migrant farm workers) from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Washington, and beyond.

Internment camp

During World War II, Crystal City was home to a World War II internment camp which housed American civilians of German, Japanese, and Italian ancestry.

Political activism

With the stream of refugees fleeing the Mexican Revolution of 1910, and later added to by Mexican migrant workers lured by the local spinach industry, the demographics of the small rural city began to shift over the years since its 1910 incorporation, due to its proximity to the U.S./Mexico border.

In 1962, Mexican-Americans began to register to vote and were harassed by local police, employers, and especially the Texas Rangers. The Rangers used a range of intimidation tactics, including physical violence/threats and preventing the formation of voter rallies. Several lawsuits resulted, drawing significant press attention. In 1963, the swiftly emerging Mexican-American majority elected an all-Mexican-American city council, led by Juan Cornejo, a local representative of the Teamsters Union at the Del Monte cannery in Crystal City. The newly elected city council, and the succeeding administration, had trouble governing the city because of political factions among the new officials. Cornejo was appointed mayor from among the five new council members. His quest to control the city government eventually led to his loss of political support. Although these five elected officials known as "Los Cinco" only held office for two years, many consider this moment the "spark" or starting point of what became known as the Chicano movement. A new group made up of both Anglos and Mexican Americans, the Citizens Association Serving All Americans, announced its plans to run candidates for countywide offices in 1964, and won.

In 1969, it was no longer allowed for Mexican Americans to speak Spanish in school, and there were no more classes or lessons on Mexican history, culture, or literature, even though Mexican Americans were the majority in Crystal City.

Chicano School Walkouts

Mexican Americans were, and continue to comprise, the majority of the population of Crystal City. In the late 1960s, over half of these were migrant farmers who would take their children out of school in the spring and sometimes would not return from the migrant circuit until the fall semester had already begun. During the summer interim, government officials and school board members would pass rules and regulations to maintain control of the absentee population. However, not just in these positions of power was the lack of Mexican Americans noticeable. A faculty committee of the local high school ruled that only one Mexican American cheerleader was allowed and the rest had to be Anglo. In the 1969 school year, students were outraged when two cheerleading spots became vacant but Mexican American students were not considered to fill the spots because one Mexican American cheerleader was already on the team. That year, the school board also required that any candidate for cheerleader had to have at least one parent who graduated from the high school. When Mexican American students complained to the superintendent, a new rule was created that stated that there were to be three Mexican American cheerleaders and three Anglo cheerleaders. The Anglo parents complained that the superintendent was "caving in" to the Mexican American students, which resulted in the school board nullifying the superintendent's solution and creating a new resolution stating that any future unrest among the students would be met with expulsion.

Student leaders took their concerns to the school board, who refused to hear their demands, which included the "hiring of more Hispanic teachers and counselors; more classes to challenge students and fewer shop and home economics electives; bilingual-bicultural education at the elementary and secondary levels; Mexican American studies classes to reflect the contributions made by Latinos; and the edition of a student representative to the school board."

After the school board refused to hear their demands, the students staged a walkout on December 9, 1969. Eventually the number of students walking the picket line exceeded 2,000. When elementary and junior high students began to join the walkout, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) sent negotiators in an attempt to get the students back in school. The TEA recommended closing schools early for the Christmas holidays, but the school board nixed this idea.

Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough invited three student leaders to come to Washington, DC, to discuss discrimination in their schools. These students also met with Senators Edward Kennedy and George McGovern, who notified the Civil Rights division of the Department of Justice and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare of the situation. Texans for the Educational Advancement of Mexican Americans (TEAMA) taught the striking students during the Christmas holidays.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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