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The first known and well-documented Hispanic Lawyer in Austin was Patricio J. Mendez (1909-1981). This is acknowledged by the State Bar and City of Austin archives. Mr. Mendez was a native of Mission Texas. He served in the Army during the Second World War and subsequently attended the University of Texas School of Law. He began practicing Law in East Austin after graduating in 1947.
The story of Patricio cannot be separated from his equally remarkable wife Consuelo (1904-1985). The Mendezes were the Hispanic power couple of Austin’s ‘50s and ‘60s. They married in 1943 and began a joint journey to struggle for the rights of Mexican Americans in Austin and Texas.
Consuelo was born in San Marcos and moved with her family to Austin where she attended Austin schools, including Palm Elementary and graduated from Austin High in 1923. She obtained an elementary education certificate and then began teaching in South Texas as she was unable to secure a position in her hometown of Austin.
In 1927 through the advocacy and persuasion of the City Council of Parent Teacher Associations with superintendent Arthur N. McCallum, she was able to secure a position at the segregated Comal Elementary, a four-room elementary for Mexican American first and second graders. Thus began her 45-year career as an Austin teacher. In 1937, she received her elementary education certificate and began teaching at the new Zavala School.
Patricio and Consuelo built a modest home on 1710 Garden Street in East Austin in 1946. After his graduation from Texas Law and his licensure in 1947, Patricio hung a shingle and began practicing law at 1105 1/2 East 6th street.
The Mendezes began a lifelong membership with their local PTAs and LULAC. They advocated to end segregation and for opportunities for Mexican Americans, especially raising scholarships for Mexican American students. Patricio ran for the Austin City Council in 1951 and garnered nearly 20 percent of the vote.
Texas Governor Allan Shivers, seated, signing the Texas LULAC week proclamation in 1954. Consuelo’s husband, Patricio Mendez, stands to the left. Others pictured, from left to right: Frank Pinedo, George Garza, Raul Moreno, and Raul Guerrero. Courtesy of Mears Photography and the Portal to Texas History.
Throughout the ‘50s, the Mendezes continued their commitment to education, civil rights, and the energetic organization of Get Out the Vote campaigns. Consuelo obtained her degree in education and Spanish in 1956 from the University of Texas.
In the late ‘50s and ‘60s, they led LULAC, and Consuelo served as statewide chair. They worked on statewide election campaigns focused on civil rights and educational advancement for Mexican Americans. Patricio moved his practice into their home in the late ‘50s.
After years of public service, they both retired to their very modest home on Garden Street. Patricio died in 1981 and Consuelo in 1985. Mendez Middle School was named for Consuelo in 1985.
In 2016, an effort to save their home on Garden Street and have it marked as an Austin landmark failed. The home was demolished and replaced with a modern home.
There can be no doubt that this couple gave all they had to their community and Texas, and for those of us who have followed them, we stand on their shoulders.
I wish to thank my friends at the State Bar of Texas for their invaluable assistance.
Trina Purcell at the State Bar Archives and Andrea Belanger, coordinator with the SBOT Local Bars Project. They were able to forward me this biographical information in a concise and professional manner. We at the Austin Bar and its History and Traditions Committee are deeply appreciative.
