History Professor Marcus Turner is leading this year’s events celebrating Texas History Month at San Jacinto College Central Campus.

“I think every state takes pride in its history and I think, particularly, Texans take pride in their history,” Turner said.

Texas History Month kicks off April 1 with Larry Spasic, director of the San Jacinto Museum, who will speak to Central campus students about the history of the San Jacinto Monument.

“If you grow up in this region, especially this area, you probably make a trip to the monument in fourth grade or in seventh grade Texas History [class],” Turner said. “It really fits into greater conversations I have with my classes about the nature of history and how we choose to remember historical events. It’s a very important monument.”

In addition, Texas State University at San Marcos professor, Dr. Frank de la Teja, is scheduled to speak April 14 at a presentation about the Texas Revolution.

“It was very important to show the Tejano perspective of the Revolution, which often times gets lost in the history of the State,” Turner said. “Tejanos fought and died at the Alamo. Tejanos fought at San Jacinto. Tejanos signed the [Texas] Declaration of Independence. So we felt like their story should be told.”

Furthermore, Dwayne Jones, Director of the Galveston Historical Foundation will speak April 24 about the Great Storm of 1900.

Texas History Month events will conclude with the San Jacinto Day Festival. The Festival, which includes a battle reenactment, is an event for which many San Jac students from all three campuses volunteer.

Director of the Honors Program Eddie Weller said, in addition to Honors students, other campus organizations take part.

Weller said, “… Members of the Walter Prescott Webb Society (history club on the three campuses), students involved with service learning through their history and government classes, and upper level Clear Horizon Early College High School (CHECHS) all participate.”

Weller said while San Jac students will not be involved in the reenactment, they “do nearly everything else needed for an event attended by 15,000 – 20,000 people.”

“We do the set up on Friday before the Saturday celebration,” Weller said, “and the tear down when it is completed. We staff the large children’s craft area and the children’s ‘bone dig.’ We run all the information booths. We ride all of the busses used to bring the visitors in and out of the park giving them information about the event.”

Meanwhile, Turner said every state should recognize and have “an understanding of the history of that state or region.”

“I just think that [it] just goes to the nature of history, anyways;” Turner said, “why we study history, who we are, how we got here, where we go forward, how we go forward.”