AT A GLANCE
- Fiesta San Antonio began in 1891 with the Battle of Flowers Parade
- Celebration tied to the Texas Revolution and Battle of San Jacinto
- Early leadership included Ellen Maury Slayden and Congressman James Slayden
- Event emerged during Jim Crow era in San Antonio
- Historical context includes slavery, segregation, and political ideology
Early Fiesta Celebrations Featured Parades and Traditions Rooted in 19th-Century San Antonio Society
Fiesta San Antonio originated in 1891 as a single-day event, but mushroomed over the years.
The Battle of Flowers Parade was designed to honor the slave owner defenders of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, which ripped away Texas from Mexico. It was nothing more than a land grab designed to expand slavery across North America.
Ellen Maury Slayden is credited with starting this celebration which featured carriages, bicycles, and white residents throwing flowers to commemorate the Texas Revolution. The original event was planned for April 21, the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, but was delayed to April 24 due to heavy rain in San Antonio at that time.
Interestingly, Ellen Slayden was married to a white supremacist congressman representing San Antonio, Congressman James Luther Slayden.
James Luther Slayden and Ideology
As part of an effort to remove all black soldiers from the military, Texas Congressman James Luther Slayden argued that Blacks were unfit for military duty.
His white supremacist ideology was fueled by events in Brownsville, Texas after Black soldiers were falsely accused of a shooting. Slayden foolishness was in the fact that he went along with the hatred of that day against Black men serving in the military.
He believed that “the relationship between the soldier and the people, were not in common at any time with the Negro soldier.”
During a speech before Congress, Slayden detailed instances of conflicts between the Black soldiers and white inhabitants but ignored the fact that racist whites started most of the violence.
He was a man with a racist upbringing and so was his wife. She wanted to celebrate the defeat of Mexico at the hands of white slave owners.
The 1891 Inauguration and Its Purpose
The 1891 Inauguration of the Battle of Flowers took place on April 24, 1891. It was at a time when San Antonio was ruled by white supremacists and Jim Crow law.
Its purpose was to honor the memory of those who fought and died at the Alamo, Goliad, and the Battle of San Jacinto. The war resulted in a slave owner society in Texas and a Texas constitution that enshrined the owning of human beings.
One of the longest lasting myths that has never been told is that of the Alamo and the denial that the Alamo defenders were slave owners who sought to become rich with land, cotton, and slavery.
The unknown story is that the Battle of the Alamo and San Jacinto were a victory for the slave owners of Texas. It was all about a white supremacist celebration that few realize as they put on medals and drink beer.
One must remember that Mexico’s only Black president, Vicente Guerrero, abolished slavery in 1829 and this set the course toward war as White settlers wanted a slave state.
Segregation and Lasting Impact
San Antonio was a segregated city with Blacks and Browns being forced to the east and west sides of the city. The northside was set aside for the wealthy whites and the suburbs were “Sundown Towns.”
A sundown town was one in which blacks could not be within the city limits after dark or they would be arrested.
Blacks were not allowed to buy homes in Terrel Hills, Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Los Angeles Heights, and other white only areas of San Antonio.
The Battle of the Alamo and San Jacinto set in place Jim Crow law and racist hatred against Blacks and Browns that would endure to this day.
People who have never studied real history have no clue as to the origin of Fiesta Week and its relation to slavery.
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