Sometime in the early 1970’s my mother took me to a show put on by the drama department at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) in Denton. It was a “Story of Texas” type revue, a collection of skits that were supposed to entertain and educate the audience about the history of our state. I would have been maybe 12 years old.

The show was a forgettable affair. But there was one skit that I recall, and if it weren’t for that skit, I’m sure I would have forgotten the show entirely. A young Latino student in a resplendent mariachi costume delivered a one- or two-minute-long monologue on “the tortilla.” It was meant to celebrate the ingenuity of the Mexican people.

(For the record, what is now the state of Texas was for several hundred years a part of the Spanish colonial empire, and then, after the Mexican war of independence, a part of the republic of Mexico. It was taken over after a revolt led largely by North American settlers who were motivated by a desire to expand slavery into the territory, at a time when slavery was already outlawed in Mexico.)

I remember this particular part of the show for two reasons. Firstly, it was easily the best bit. It was short, lively, and funny (punchline: “You don’t need knives and forks, and when you’re finished, you eat the plate!”), a polished performance by an enthusiastic performer. When it ended the audience gave it resounding applause.

But I think I also remember it for another reason. Even at that age I vaguely understood that something very wrong was going on.

The memory of that routine has haunted me over the years. Now, I imagine the decision to include that skit as being made by a couple of faculty members. The discussion was something like this:

Drama professor 1: You know, this show is about Texas history and culture. I was thinking maybe we should include something about the Mexicans.

Drama professor 2: Yeah, they play such a vital role!

DP1: Maybe something about food…

DP2: That’s a great idea! Everybody loves Mexican food! How about…a tribute to the tortilla?

DP1: Yes, aren’t tortillas great?!

DP2: And I just realized, that will give [insert name of Latino drama student here] something to do! I was wondering how we were going to fit him in….

The wildly enthusiastic applause this skit received also has a dark side in my imagination. I think it was tinged with relief. Here was the audience’s opportunity to show that it respected the Mexican people and appreciated their contributions to our great state, without acknowledging any of the awful, unjust atrocities inflicted on Mexican communities after the Texas revolution and eventual annexation of Texas.

Like everyone of my generation there are aspects of pre-Internet, pre-Governor Bush Texas that I am nostalgic for (like Ann Richards). But the pre-“woke” racism, even, or especially, the condescending, self-satisfied kind, is not one of them.