Photographs Documenting Work of Philanthropist on Relationship Between the United States and Mexico in Texas

Fort Worth, Texas, 1952. Six black and white 8" x 10" photographs; four are captioned on versos. Generally very good or better: one with a moderate crease; a few with light edge and corner wear.

This is a collection of photographs that document the friendship and work of Jack Danciger and Efrain Dominguez in their efforts to promote cooperation and business between the United States and Mexico in Texas.

Jack Danciger was a wealthy philanthropist and political activist who was born in Taos, New Mexico in 1879. At the age of 30 he inherited a group of successful businesses built by his father related to the hotel industry, breweries, and oil and gas. Around this time he also took a strong interest in Mexico. According to the preface written by former Secretary of State of Mexico, Ezequial Padilla, that appears in Danciger's biography (Richkarday, General. Jack Danciger His Life and Work. (1963)), during the Mexican Revolution, [i]"in the Southern part of the United States prejudices were enthroned and cruel discrimination . . . jeopardized the humble Mexicans who lived expatriated. The campaign bravely waged by Jack against unjust and criminal authorities is yet remembered with gratefulness by many Mexicans." Later, in the 1940s, also according to Padilla, "I found in Jack a strong courageous supporter of the campaign I launched against the infamous discrimination to which the Mexicans in Texas were subjected. [We] did everything possible . . . to conquer intolerant and discriminatory attitudes of men and firms that persecuted our compatriots with racial hatred."[/i] For his work on behalf of Mexico, Danciger was ultimately awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor Mexico's government bestows on foreigners.

These photos show Danciger's later life and career when he was living in Texas. He had been named Honorary Consul of Mexico in Fort Worth in 1942. It was here that he met Dominguez who became his right hand man for the next four years. According to the Richkarday biography, Danciger [i] "wanted to hire someone well versed in consular matters to help him manage the office and that he would pay that individual's salary himself." [/i] Dominguez was a career consular officer and was deemed perfect for the job.

When Danciger started in Fort Worth, he immediately set up a program for the approximately five thousand Mexican nationals in the area to receive free legal advice on a range of issues. All of those legal fees were paid by Danciger himself. As the office grew in prestige,[i] "Danciger and Dominguez found themselves in constant demand as public speakers or panel members . . . they were asked to lecture, write articles or issue statements leading to a dual purpose: erase former ill feelings in the light of a loyal friendship." [/i] While the Fort Worth consulate was closed in 1946, Danciger and Dominguez continued to work on many issues including major anti-discrimination projects as well as building the commercial air traffic between Texas and Mexico.

This collection contains one great photo from 1948, captioned in Spanish. It depicts the governors of several Mexican states, along with Maria Grimaldo, who served as Honorary Consul of Mexico in Fort Worth after Danciger. The group is posed in front of an airplane, likely on the tarmac of Carswell Airfield. The remaining images show Cosme Hinojosa (Consul General to Mexico), Danciger, Dominguez, Grimaldo and other identified Mexican government officials at a banquet in Fort Worth in November 1952. The Fort Worth Star Telegram had reported that the officials had been Danciger's guests, in town to visit the new Greater Fort Worth International Airport, and that their visit, [i]"we can but hope, has impressed them with the fact that Fort Worth rapidly is becoming an important international air center, and that Mexico's interest in its development is considerable." [/i]

As these are apparently press photos intended for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, we imagine that the University of Texas at Arlington holds some of these images. That said, we searched the approximately 28,000 images that UTA has online for Danciger and Dominguez and found ten featuring Danciger, six for Dominguez, and none appear to duplicate the photos on offer.

An interesting group of photos documenting the work of an exceptionally important, but now little remembered, diplomat and his work at improving the relationship between the United States and Mexico.