Casas, Jesus Manuel (1941-)

Michael I. Loewy & Roger L. Worthington

Jesus Manuel (Manny) Casas was born in the small town of Avalos, Chihuahua, Mexico. His rich racial/ethnic heritage includes roots in Spain and indigenous Mexico. His paternal great-grandmother was Apache, having been saved by Mexican wagon masters from U.S. cavalry raids on her village and subsequently taken to Mexico where she was raised by his great-grandfather's family. Something that ties him historically to California, the state in which he has lived most of his life, is the fact that in the 1800s his paternal great-grandfather spent a major portion of his life driving a wagon train from the north central part of Mexico to Sacramento, California, and back again. Casas immigrated to the United States at a young age and was educated in the racially hostile environs of the U.S. educational system during the late 1940s and 1950s. Part of this historical period is best captured in Casas's own words ...

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