The battle over how to portray the roles ethnic groups played in the Siege of the Alamo continued Saturday at the first Texas History Forum.
Victoria College history Professor Stephen L. Hardin, said the role Tejanos played should include the story of Hispanics who supported the Mexican army.
"While the contributions of federalist Tejanos are common knowledge, those who rallied to the centralist banner are seldom mentioned," Hardin said.
Gilberto Hinojosa, Incarnate Word history professor and audience member, said that by the same token, many Anglo settlers who had been in the area for a long time refused to take sides.
"A large number of Anglo Texas settlers who had more to lose than the newcomers, refused to take sides in the Texas Revolution ," Hinojosa said following Hardin's presentation.
Hardin, along with historians Dora Elizondo Guerra, Thomas Ricks Lindley, Kevin Young and Tim Matovina, were among panel members at the forum sponsored by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Hardin praised recent efforts to present a broader view of ethnic groups' roles in Texas history, especially those of Hispanics during the Republic.
At the same time, he cautioned against presenting a distorted view of those contributions.
Also during the presentations, Young commended the DRT for its recent efforts to open up discussion on Alamo history.
"With so much historical name calling that has gone on over the last nine months, I am very pleased that the Daughters have taken the effort to expand our historical awareness and offer a forum to explore new and continuing research in regards to this site and it's most significant moment," Young said.
Hinojosa added this was part of a bigger movement as Mexican-Americans become a dominant part of society. It's appropriate that the role of Hispanics be studied.
Carolyn Peters, a historical architect, also briefly presented plans on restoring the facade of the Alamo.
Debate on the Alamo and related improvements to Alamo Plaza has been raging since February after a proposal to restore Alamo Plaza to represent its history as an 18th-century Spanish mission compound and the 1836 site of the famous Alamo Battle was distributed to key civic leaders, preservationists and historians.
The issue was examined in depth late February in a forepart series by the San Antonio Express-News.
In November, Alamo Plaza East was closed temporarily for the Christmas holidays. The closure was extended to March 1 so an archaeological dig of an Alamo battle well could take place, but the dig never got under way.
In January, the Inter-Tribal Council of American Indians asked the city to close Alamo Plaza East permanently to vehicular traffic, after discovering records showing more than 1,000 people may be buried there.
In March, City Council took the first step toward permanently closing Alamo Plaza East by voting to extend the temporary closure of the street, citing safety, environmental and aesthetic concerns.