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Early Years
Jovita Idár (September 7, 1885, – June 15, 1946) was an American journalist, political activist and civil rights worker, born in Laredo, Texas in 1885. Idár strove to advance the civil rights of Mexican-Americans. All nine Idar children grew up in an atmosphere where rights, responsibilities and the circumstances of the Chicano community were consistently discussed, “Growing up Jovita was an imaginative, spirited girl; eager student, she won prizes for her poetry and enjoyed reciting before an audience.”

Jovita Idár and two of her brothers, Eduardo and Bobby Brown, worked for the newspaper La Crónica [The Chronicles]. The paper, edited and published by their father Nicasio Idár, advocated for civil rights and social justice for Mexican-Americans. A strong, proud man, Nicasio turned the newspaper into a major voice for justice and Tejano rights. Jovita wrote articles under a pseudonym, exposing the poor living conditions of Mexican American workers and supported the Mexican Revolution which started in 1910.

According to Laura Gutierrez in volume two of Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage, the newspaper La Crónica

"... including a wide variety of articles dealing with current events, news from Mexico, local and regional news, biographical and historical essays, poetry, literary essays, commentary, and, of course, lots of advertisements. More importantly, however, La Cronica gave voice to the serious social and economic disparities suffered by Mexicans in Texas and the U.S."

Career
Idár earned her teaching certificate in 1903 from the Holding Institute in Laredo. She taught in a school in Los Ojuelos, located approximately 40 miles east of Laredo. .The reality of her first years teaching was frustrating, “There was never enough textbooks for her pupils, nor enough paper, pens or pencils; if all her students came to class, there were not enough chairs or desk for them.”. The schooling for Chicano students much like African American students in the south at the same time was an inadequate learning environment. Chicanos paid taxes to support decent schooling for their children that they were denied from entering, by this time Idar realized that her teaching efforts were making little impact on student lives due to the ill-equipped schooling. She decided that journalism offered more of effecting, meaningful change and she returned to Laredo to write for La Cronica. In 1910 the La Cronica was very expressive in criticizing the different social relations between the Hispanic communities and the Anglo people, “Featuring stories on educational and social discrimination against Mexican Americans, poor economic conditions, decreasing use of the Spanish language, the loss of Mexican culture and lynching of Hispanics.” By 1911 the La Cronica had shifted towards supporting revolutionary forces, “the newspaper called a convention of the Orden Caballeros de Honor, a fraternal order to discuss the troubling social issues at the time”

Movements
La Liga Femenil (League of Mexican Women)

Idár served as the first president of the League of Mexican Women (La Liga Femenil Mexicanista). It was founded in October 1911 in Laredo to offer free education to Mexican children. Additional goals of the organization were to "unify the Mexican intellectuals of Texas around the issues of protection of civil rights, bilingual education, the lynching of Mexicans, labor organizing and women's concerns." . The women within this league worked to transform these injustices into a plan of action and focused on relieving social problems through actively making changes within their communities. Women who participated in this organization were highly influential. “Some league members were trained educators and professionals, and the education of youth remained the organization's primary focus.” It developed into a social, political and charitable organization for women that in part provided food and clothes to those in need.

Primer Congreso Mexicanista

Idar also participated in the Primer Congreso Mexicanista, an organization dedicated fighting inequality and racism. These associations actively worked for the advancement of their members, “by holding studying and learning sessions, sessions where culture is acquired and talent is developed without orgies and unhealthy ambitions.” Idar presented the values of the gente deceenter as solutions to the social problems occurring within the different marginalized groups, “Idar promoted the idea that education elevated women and by the extension of men” she reflected the ideal feminist that was not completely against Victorian concepts, but she did challenge ideas and broke boundaries of the patriarchal society.

In 1913 during the Mexican Revolution Jovita and a friend entered Mexico to help care for the wounded along the border region. She later joined a medical group called the White Cross (La Cruz Blanca) which was similar to the Red Cross relief organization. After returning to Laredo Idár worked for the newspaper El Progreso but eventually returned to La Crónica, where she continued to expose the conditions that Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants were living under at the time. In May 1917 she married Bartolo Juárez, who worked as a plumber and tinsmith. She moved with her husband to San Antonio in 1921. Idár also worked as a newspaper editor and publisher. She founded the weekly paper Evolución in November 1916 which lasted four years. In 1940 she co-edited the journal El Heraldo Cristiano.

Jovita Idár died on June 15, 1946 in San Antonio, Texas.