Former Fort Worth ISD school board member Jesse Martinez, 80, recalled speaking Spanish with a friend on the M.G. Ellis Elementary school grounds. A teacher slapped him across his mouth and told him, “You’re an American. That’s why you need to learn English. That’s why you Mexicans will never amount to anything.”
But his first-second grade teacher Alice Contreras took him under her wing, encouraged him to study, and made allowances for his asthma attack absences. Jesse learned early about abuse and kindness on school grounds. He shared his memories recently as he undergoes hospice care.
Jesse grew up poor and sickly, but his loving mother Margaret instilled in him an indomitable spirit to look at the world positively. He needed that positive mindset to deal with the hard knock Northside upbringing. His mother confided to Jesse that a doctor told her he wouldn’t live more than a year. She prayed and cared for her son with devotion, carrying him through several near-death, emergency room episodes.
Working after-school jobs as a newspaper boy, at Johnny’s Hamburger, and Dr. Pepper, he bought groceries and gave most of his earnings to his mother, who worked cleaning homes. He persevered, gaining employment with Bell Helicopter and later worked 25 years with Lockheed Martin as a contract/procurement administrator. His amicable disposition and drive for community improvement led him to volunteer for the YMCA Metropolitan board, South Hills Neighborhood Association, FWISD committees, and numerous youth-enhancement programs. As the father of three daughters and a son, he participated in their school activities and stressed academic achievement.
Jesse (back left), Manuel (back right) and (front from left) Melinda Martinez, Mari Gonzales, Monica Gonzalez, and Jo Linda Martinez at a family gathering.
To offer more leadership and communication training for his three daughters and other Latino students, his wife Jo Linda, a FWISD bilingual school teacher, and Jesse started the Hispanic Youth Promoting Excellence (HYPE) program. For 13 years, they offered after-school instruction and competition in Hispanic poetry, public speaking, reading interpretation, Hispanic leaders, and cultural pride.
Jesse and Jo Linda Martinez during a belated honeymoon vacation to Cola de Caballo falls in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1969. They were married in 1964.
Election to the Fort Worth school board
After FWISD school board member Jack Morrow moved out of District 6 in 1997, he encouraged Jesse to run for office. Jesse claimed he initially had no interest in an elective seat and enjoyed working behind the scenes. However, several civic leaders encouraged him to run based on his business expertise, civic leadership, and many volunteer education experiences. David Bucher, John Sandifer, and G. Pat Taylor, also vied for the position.
The Fort Worth Education Association and Fort Worth United Educators Association officers endorsed Jesse. “He’s accessible and he’s knowledgeable,” UEA Executive Director Larry Shaw said. “He’s been there. He’s helpful with teachers, parents and kids. “ FWEA President Rubidel Johnson said, “We’re also very impressed with his community service record.”
Jesse won the school board seat on September 6, 1997, in a run-off election against Bucher, 1,544 to 1,199 votes. He won two additional school board elections, the last one on May 4, 2002, with 82.3 percent of the vote.
Normally a conciliatory individual, Jesse’s diplomacy was tested by an opponent’s racist remark. After Jesse arrived late to a debate, one of his opponents commented, “Just like a Mexican to be a day late and a dollar short.” Jesse immediately confronted the person. After the debate, the person told a Star-Telegram reporter, he had apologized but was only joking and Jesse had overreacted. Jesse said he didn’t tolerate any ethnic slurs or wisecracks about the disabled and the poor. The fact that Jesse’s community work was in Wedgewood, a predominately white neighborhood, must have eluded the opponent. Jesse had remarked he considered himself an American who happened to be of Latino heritage and whose ancestors had come from Spain to the Americas.
Jesse’s business acumen rose to the fore involving Briscoe Construction Corp. In 2001, Leonard Briscoe won a $523,000 contract for six elementary school building projects. Briscoe asked for an additional $231,000 in 2002, pointing to hiring extra project managers. Jesse disagreed with the requests for additional funds and stressed the importance of adhering to the original contract. “A deal is a deal,” he said.
Keeping in touch with regular school visits
Jesse’s management style called for direct communication with principals, teachers, and students. He visited schools in his district every other Friday to discuss their concerns and ideas for improvement. Parents called him on his personal phone about school issues or stopped him in the grocery store to share their concerns.
When a new school was built in Jesse’s district in 2000, the plan was to name it Lubbock Avenue. Jesse campaigned and won the board’s approval to have the school renamed for his teacher, Alice Contreras, the district’s first Latina bilingual department director.
Mauro Serrano, retired FWISD associate administrator for instruction and governmental affairs, remembered Jesse “would always say, ‘Well, have we done a cost-benefit analysis on this?’ .. He was always kind of looking at, you know, is it going to be worth the money and what’s the benefits to the kids?”
Jesse Martinez during a visit with his mother Margaret Martinez.
Raised in poverty, slugged by an anti-Spanish language teacher, jumped by Anglo bullies, wracked by childhood illnesses, Jesse held dear to his mother’s encouragement to pray often, work hard, and stay positive. He smiled from his hospice bed, proud of his four children’s successes and his loving wife Jo Linda of 60 years. Jesse’s home office walls were lined with professional photos and congratulatory plaques of his lifetime accomplishments.
Jesse, family man, civic organizer, corporate negotiator, contract hawk, and school advocate has left a role model legacy of joyful courage and positive leadership for the kids.
Author Richard J. Gonzales writes and speaks about Fort Worth, national and international Latino history.