100 years after the 19th Amendment: Jovita Idar
SAN ANTONIO โ After leaving her job as a teacher, Mexican-American journalist Jovita Idar used her fatherโs weekly newspaper to advocate for womenโs rights. Through her writing for La Cronica โ and against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution - Idar urged women to educate themselves so they wouldnโt have to rely on men. Her motto โ โWhen you educate a woman, you educate a family.โIdar joined the first Mexican congress in Laredo, and then founded the League of Mexican Women, becoming its first president. When the Texas Rangers arrived to shut down the paper because of her article, Idar stood in front of the door, refusing to allow them to enter. In 1921, she moved from Laredo to San Antonio, where she continued to be a voice for women and established a free kindergarten.