Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

Everyone counts and every gift counts!  Consider making a Give OUT Day 2025 donation:  bit.ly/supportesperanza to enhance our LGBTQ+ programming at Esperanza.  Contact:  Richard Aguilar, 210-228-0201 & fundraising@esperanzacenter.org.    

It was 1987 in San Antonio when a group of women of color, queer, and straight, who were born and raised in this city, dreamed of creating a progressive place. They imagined a center where women like them and their allies would come together.  Their objective was to gather activists, scholars, cultural workers, and community-based organizers to discuss issues and take action against all oppression. They developed a common vision which brought time, talent, and money.  With carefully drawn resources, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center was birthed into making a new world.  In almost forty years, Esperanza has grown into a respected international leader which integrates community arts and social justice advocacy. 

Esperanza was evicted from its rental space in 1993 after hosting the first-ever AIDS and LGBTQ+ art exhibits in the state of Texas.  Thereafter, the leadership of Esperanza called upon Buena Gente to a first capital campaign.  This effort concluded in the  purchase a two-story, 10,000-square-foot building that was paid off in six years through fundraising efforts.  This building in 2025 houses staff offices and hosts programming at 922 San Pedro Avenue which, is only 1.3 miles from downtown San Antonio.  

In 1997, the City of San Antonio defunded Esperanza from grant monies because peace and justice programming was considered "TOO POLITICAL" in the opinions of the majority of city council.  The leadership of Esperanza chose to file a lawsuit and in 2001 a federal judge ruled against the City.  This judgment placed Esperanza at the forefront of the national grassroots struggle to defend cultural expression. This was the first case in a United States federal court that addressed race and ethnicity in public arts funding.  This declaration asserted the civil rights in defense of cultural integrity for persons of color as prescribed by the Constitution of this nation.   

The heart of Esperanza from the beginning has been in the West Side of San Antonio.  Our corazones birthed a second campus that began with the the acquisition of the Casa de Cuentos and adjacent Casita in 2002. In 2006, the "En Aquellos Tiempos: Fotohistorias del West Side" project was launched in the zip code 78207.  This endeavor focuses on telling the stories of Mexican-American residents from the 1940's-1950's. This outdoor photo exhibition has over 150 foto-banners at six locations. Then in 2007, the former Ruben's Ice House was purchased which followed a vision to establish el Museo del West Side. Groundbreaking for the Museo occurred in 2022 and grand opening is planned for the year 2025. Lerma's was a venue on Zarzamora Street that showcased Tejano music and dance. However, in 2010 the building was condemned by city officials and scheduled for demolition. Buena Gente of Esperanza stepped up to "Save Lerma's."  The space has been restored through a capital campaign and was re-opened in 2023 with a grand celebration. Lerma's is on the National Register of Historic Places and is now a cultural center for gatherings of music and learning.                                                                                                                               

Esperanza manifests vision in Arte y Corazón through numerous occasional and annual programs including MujerArtes, Noche Azul, Las Tesoros, Paseo del West Side, Día de los Muertos celebration, and Peace Market/Mercado de Paz.  Esperanza's mission in justice is witnessed in advocacy and alliances such as: Save the Aquifer lawsuit (2002); Save la Gloria resistance in 2002 which, led to the Historic WestSide Preservation Alliance; Hays Street bridge restoration campaign in 2000, lawsuit in 2010, and favorable judgment in 2014; and Mi Barrio No Se Vende effort against gentrification, that includes yard signs throughout homes in the West Side and inner cities across the country.  Esperanza issed a statement of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement to hold up our priority in Poder del Pueblo. Finally, Las Domésticas Unidas and the Coalition for Dignified Housing are examples of ongoing justice work.     

 
Esperanza continues to offer significant cultural arts events and relevant social justice sessions at the three campuses in San Antonio. Esperanza Peace and Justice Center has created safe spaces for anyone and everyone who has ever considered themselves "other." We value women, persons of color, youth, queers, immigrants, elders, working families, low income persons, domestic workers, public housing residents, and all people who choose to dream and work towards a better world for every human being and the climate of our planet. Our vision and mission continues to expand and we declare:  We are all Esperanza!  ¡Todos Somos Esperanza!