The contributions of late Mexican American activist and journalist Jovita Idár will be honored this fall on a quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program. She is the ninth woman honored in the program and its second Latina figure to be featured on a quarter.
Most known for defending the First Amendment right to freedom of the press at her family’s Spanish-language newspaper, El Progreso, Idár was an educator, writer and civil rights activist. In 1914, she faced the Texas Rangers, who threatened to destroy the newspaper after it published an editorial criticizing the U.S. military intervention in the Mexican Revolution.
Idár’s quarter will depict a portrait of George Washington to mark his 200th birthday. On the other side of the coin, a 1905 portrait of Idár honors her legacy.
The figure on the quarter displays a 1905 studio portrait of Idár in a high-neck blouse popular during the Victorian Era, her hands clasped. Inscriptions represent the newspapers for which she wrote and her accomplishments: “Astria,” one of her pen names; “Mexican American Rights, La Liga Femenil Mexicanista, El Heraldo Cristiano, La Cruz Blanca, teacher.”
To celebrate the coin’s release, the United States Mint and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum will host a series of events in San Antonio this week.
Members of the Idár family will join a roundtable discussion about Idár’s life Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Emmy and Pulitzer prize-winning Journalist Maria Hinojosa will give a keynote speech about Idár at 7 p.m. Thursday following the roundtable.
On Saturday starting at 8 a.m., the San Antonio Central Library will host a Jovita Idár Symposium at 600 Soledad St. to share personal reflections about the creation of the quarter. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro will speak about what the quarter means for South Texas communities.
The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum will also host a free family day at Historic Market Square and Centro de Artes Sunday at 1 p.m., where the public can hear the debut of a “corrido” about Idár by Gino Rivera and see original choreography by the Guadalupe Dance Company.
“A Mexican American, Spanish-speaking brown woman stood up to the Texas Rangers at a time when they were committing terrible crimes against people of color, and specifically Texan Mexicans,” UTSA history professor Gabriela González said in a 2020 documentary on Idár.
Idár was a teacher before joining the family business and becoming a journalist. Frustrated at the disparities Hispanic students faced, like falling school buildings and lack of school supplies, she decided she could make a bigger difference for her community through journalism. She went on to help create the League of Mexican Women, one of the first known Latina feminist organizations, and served as its first president.
She was also a nurse and aided soldiers of the Mexican Revolution, “in the name of bringing Democracy to Mexico,” González said.
Idár worked for at least four Spanish-language publications, and started at least two publications, said Tey Nunn, director of the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative.
“For many years, [stories] have been told in many communities that perhaps are not valued equally in American history. It’s necessary to fill out our fuller narrative of American history,” Nunn said. “Jovita really is a hero. She needs to be known. She needs to be in history books and museums.”
After her career as a journalist, Idár helped undocumented workers obtain naturalization papers after the Border Patrol was created in 1924, founded a free nursery school and tutored young children.
Idár died at age 60 in San Antonio in 1946 and is buried at San Jose Burial Park on the South Side.
“Jovita’s nieces … they talk about Jovita, their aunt, [and] they remember her as a really strong woman, as a powerhouse, and somebody who helped people,” Nunn said.
The United States Mint created the special coin as part of its new four-year program featuring the “tails” design emblems highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of prominent American women.
Last year, Adelina Otero-Warren became the first Hispanic Latina to be featured on a quarter for her leadership in New Mexico’s suffragist moment and as the first female superintendent of the Santa Fe public schools. Cuban singer Celia Cruz will be featured in 2024.
Castro said the American Women Quarters Program has helped educate of the stories of often-overlooked heroines.
“Latinos have been left out of much of the telling of American history, and as a result, most Americans don’t understand how we have contributed to this country,” Castro said.
“The 2022 Adelina Otero-Warren quarter was the first time any Hispanic American appeared on U.S. currency, and the new Jovita Idár quarter is a landmark moment for Mexican American representation,” he added.
