User:Megalibrarygirl/Maxine L. Silva

Maxine Lunt Silva (December 19, 1915 - November 13, 2013) was an El Paso educator and advocate for education.

Biography
Silva graduated from El Paso High School in 1934 and married Mamuel M. Silva the next year.

Silva's work in education advocacy started in 1939, when she was a PTA volunteer at Burleson Elementary school. After World War II, she and other parents successfully fought for additional educational opportunities for Hispanic students in El Paso. The El Paso Times reported that she and other parents "stormed an EPISD board meeting, arguing if the young men from the barrio could fight and die in war, they should also be able to get an education at home." Their efforts directly led to the creation of Jefferson High School, which was dedicated in 1949.

In 1948, when she ran as a candidate for trustee in the school board election, Silva reported that she and her campaign faced "ethnic slurs."

In 1984, she again ran as a candidate for trustee for the school board.