Historic Black history marker damaged on San Antonio’s East Side, civil rights leader suspects ‘racial vandalism’

Mario Salas authored the plaque located off South Pine and Iowa streets, which highlights the fight for equality and the struggles against injustice.

SAN ANTONIO — A plaque commemorating Black history on San Antonio’s east side was recently found yanked off its metal posts. This prompted concern from residents, including a longtime civil rights activist who believes the damage was intentional and possibly racially motivated.

“I’ve been involved in civil rights a long time so I’m not surprised,” Salas said. “If that was designed to scare somebody, it ain’t going to work.”

The marker in question is located off South Pine and Iowa streets in the Denver Heights neighborhood, which civil rights historian and former San Antonio City Councilmember Mario Salas stressed has been in place for at least a year. 

Salas said the plaque was found lying on the ground near where it had been mounted. He does not believe weather or other natural causes brought it down.

He believes the marker was removed sometime between July 25-27.

“I’m used to people committing racial acts of violence or racial vandalism,” Salas said.

Salas serves on a city TIRZ board (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone) designed to support redevelopment and public infrastructure improvements.

The board and the non-profit organization, San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside (SAGE), sponsored the marker. 

Salas authored the plaque, which highlights the fight for equality and the struggles against injustice faced by San Antonio’s Black community.

“This particular corner on all four corners was Black history at one time,” Salas said.

The plaque is part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Legacy Project. SNCC was founded in 1960 by young Black students in North Carolina and became a major organization in the Civil Rights Movement. 

As detailed on the plaque, Salas said the organization once maintained an office at the East Side site, sharing space with prominent black-owned businesses on what’s now a vacant plot of land. 

“The organization actually shared offices, which used to be a movie theater with the Langston Hughes Afro-American theater,” Salas said. “It was a two-story building and it was actually a stage where performers would read poetry and so forth.”

Salas reported the plaque incident to San Antonio police and also notified the SNCC Legacy Project.

“Their (SNCC) comment to me was this is happening all over the country, that signs that have been erected, memorializing Black history are being destroyed,” Salas said. “So this is not just a San Antonio thing, it’s happening everywhere.”

As police investigate, Salas is working to have the historic panel put back in place while ensuring this time it’s much more difficult to remove. 

“To be able to tell people what was here, the history of what was here is what’s important,” Salas said. “You’ll need a tractor to take the next one down.”

The Neighborhoods First Alliance is offering a $1,000 reward for information that could assist police in their investigation. To learn more, go to the organization’s Facebook page by clicking here.