The People’s Academy represents a partnership between the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and UTSA, in collaboration with the Historic Westside Residents Association and the Westside Preservation Alliance.

Current and Past Projects

  • Escuelita

Punishing the Poor: A Community Response to San Antonio's Code Enforcement in Communities of Color

A recent University of Texas School of Law research report reveals that San Antonio’s system of code enforcement disproportionately targets the homes of low-income Black and Latinx residents. This report confirms the complaints that residents and housing activists have been making for over a decade. The report provides clear evidence of racial and class bias in San Antonio's code compliance policies and practices. Recommended pre-read–Ousted: The City of San Antonio’s Displacement of Residents through Code Enforcement Actions at bit.ly/displacement210 Presented by the People’s Academy, a partnership between the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and UTSA, in collaboration with the Historic Westside Residents Association and the Westside Preservation Alliance. Spanish translation was provided by the RGV Language Justice Collective. Sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Grassroots Feminist and Farmworker Struggles

A conversation about research and activism in Colombia and the South Texas Borderlands

Las Luchas de las Feministas populares y lxs Trabajadores Agrícolas:

Una conversación sobre investigación y activismo en Colombia y la zona fronteriza del Sur de Texas

The community platíca took place online with our post-doc fellows Dr. Carolina Arango Vargas and Dr. José Villagrán, where they discussed their research topics, the regions they work within, and the exploration of their work for their families and the activism in their home regions of Columbia and the South Texas Borderlands. Spanish translation was provided by the RGV Language Justice Collective.