The Santos Vive Project
SANTOS RODRIGUEZ was a 12-year-old Mexican American boy who was murdered on July 24, 1973 while handcuffed in the front seat of a Dallas Police car with his 13-year-old brother seated in the back seat. News of Santos’ death was broadcast nationwide, and sparked riots and demonstrations in Dallas in 1973.
Santos’ death shook the city of Dallas, and the nation as a whole.
Since Santos death 45 years ago, the Mexican American population in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has grown from around 100,000 people in 1973 to around 2 million people in 2018. Yet most Latinos in Dallas have never heard the story of Santos Rodriguez.
The Rodriguez family, including Santos’ mother, Bessie, and his brother, David, who witnessed his brother’s murder, have struggled both emotionally and financially since Santos’ death. The family is currently living below the poverty line and was never awarded nor provided with any substantial compensation from the city of Dallas for Santos’ murder.
The family has also been repeatedly promised the creation of numerous “memorials to Santos” by city of Dallas officials over the past 45 years but nothing has ever materialized.
HUMAN RIGHTS DALLAS has created the “SANTOS VIVE PROJECT” with the goal of honoring Santos Rodriguez in the following ways:
1. To create a memorial to honor the death of Santos Rodriguez to be located in Dallas, Texas. The only current memorial to Santos Rodriguez is Santos Rodriguez Park in Seattle, Washington.
2. To establish a fund to provide financial assistance to cover basic needs for the family of Santos Rodriguez, including his mother, Bessie, and his brother, David.
3. To produce a documentary about the Santos Rodriguez story to air on television and in select Dallas theaters in 2018.
We truly hope that you will donate your time and/or money to this worthy cause, with hopes that this project will educate our youth and help bring a degree of closure to the Rodriguez family after 45 years.
Santos Vive Project
https://www.santosvive.com/donate/
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The project will meet at 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 26 at 109 Clements Hall-SMU (Best parking is just east of University and Airline at the public park, then a short walk to Dr, Halperin's office.)
Project Updates:
The Dallas Peace & Justice Center is now a fiscal sponsor. and Human Rights Dallas is now a legal entity.
Please visit the website and like, share and post widely on your networks! https://www.santosvive.com/
The documentary is coming along well according to our award-winning filmmaker Byron Hunter! And you will all get to meet him at the meeting! You can view a trailer for Santos Vive on the website.