If you are following the Laura Perea mystery you’ll remember that in my last update I said that I was trying to find something that might have been written by Laura…a 1956 document that was referenced in a book about Minnie Fisher Cunningham, a Texas suffragette who was announcing her candidacy for President. And after a bit of magic by librarians and archivists willing to sift through 9-foot-long archival boxes, they found it! An untitled memo in Minnie’s papers written by Laura Perea. I’d worried that even if I could find it I could never prove it was by our Laura, but it almost seems like she knew this would come, because under her name she added an address…the very home her parents owned at the time.
Her voice is unique, snarky, smart-as-hell and opinionated (and she made me go for the dictionary for “blowlands” – lands subject to wind erosion) and it makes me wish I had more to read. I picked up several things from her hand-typed memo:
- That she was either out of the mental institution, or at least wasn’t a full-time resident by April of 1956, because she says she is in the room when Minnie announces her run.
- That she had a talent with words. One of her phrases rang particularly true when she documented the moment that Minnie announced her run in the home of a supporter: “…the occasion may well be destined for the anonymity of those unrecorded memories of a history that is constantly being made…by the forgotten men and women of the suburbs and the blowlands…” It’s not lost on me that 70 years ago she was writing about forgotten people, just as I’m writing about her now.
- The strangest thing. There’s only one of her drawings I never shared here because I didn’t understand it. It’s a political cartoon of Khrushchev (I think?) with Nixon and Mamie Eisenhower pandering to farmers to vote for Eisenhower, and I believe it may have been created to go with this exact memo. Both are dated April 1956 and both mention her criticism of “The Benson Plan”. What are the odds that the only piece of writing I’ve ever found of hers goes with one of the only sketches of hers I have? It feels like fate.
Anyway, the subject of her memo is obscure and dated, but I’ll leave it at the bottom of the post in case you want to read it in full.
I also found out a few other things…that Laura and her sister Helen entered Trinity University for the first time in 1927. Helen was listed in the college bulletin as a student in the art department. Laura was listed in the conservatory of music as a piano student. THEY WERE NINE YEARS OLD AT THE TIME.
I already knew that Laura and Helen were honor students but I discovered that Helen was often at the very top of the class each year in college, probably on course to be valedictorian, but during their senior year Helen drops out and never returns. I assume this is when her mental illness became too much to deal with as she and Laura are both in their first mental institution a few years later according to the 1940 census records. I had assumed that Laura’s degree would be in writing or art (and she did join a college writing club) but she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in science, and got special academic awards for her work in social sciences. I’m not sure social work existed in the same way it does now so my guess is that political science was her jam.
There were a few Letters to the Editor from a Laura Perea in the San Antonio paper in the 1960s that I couldn’t attribute to her at the time, but now after reading her memo I feel pretty confident that these letters were from her. The same feisty voice, strong political ideals and unapologetic tone.
In other words, don’t fuck with Laura.
This Thursday I’ll be at the bookshop, hanging Laura’s art in our community room. It’ll be open all day Friday for people to see, and at 5pm I’ll be there to visit at a super-casual free reception where we can talk about mental health, art, voice, and remember those who have been forgotten. I’ll be doing an online zoom event in the near future after I’ve spoken to the one person I’ve found who actually knew Laura. I’ll keep you posted.
And in case you want to read it, here is Laura’s untitled memo. (A special note here for younger readers that the word “negro” was an acceptable term back in the 50s when this was written but began to fall out of acceptable use in the late 60s. MLK Jr. used it often.)
It makes me wonder if the other political sketch I have of hers (An outer-space wire of Eisenhower and his wife surrounded by a world-ending mushroom cloud on the national day of prayer) also went with a piece of writing?
Wow! So amazing! I wonder if one of your local museums might want to exhibit this as well on temporary loan.
I can hardly express how much I love this story and all that has come to light. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
That is definitely Richard Nixon depicted with a rather more muscular than accurate Ike (yes, resembles Kruschev on purpose) and Mamie. Very interesting. Now I wonder what The Benson Plan was!
(I had thought it was Ike at first but my dad pointed out that it was probably Khrushchev -THEY LOOK WEIRDLY SIMILAR – and then the title of Big Brother made sense. ~ Jenny)
Doggonit! I wish the editor had copy-edited Laura’s letter where the typesetter substituted “spacious” for “specious”.
(Yep. ~ Jenny)
I’m riveted by this story, and the work you’re doing to bring Laura’s work to light. Thanks, Jenny!
(I’m so glad that other people enjoy it as much as I do. It’s the most rewarding puzzle ever. ~ Jenny)
This saga just gets better and better. Laura Perea had conviction, ideas and a commendable fierceness. And talent. Where could she be today and what could she have accomplished if she had lived? What a beautiful mind.
This is amazing, Jenny. So cool that you continue to find information related to her. I wish I lived closer so I could see the drawings in person.
To the user wondering what The Benson Plan was, it appears to be agriculture related. A quick Google search using the terms “The Benson Plan” Nixon OR Eisenhower turns up several references.
Oh my goddess. Can you imagine if she had won? I have to imagine that the US as a Matriarchy would more likely have reached it’s promise……what a woman!
As the granddaughter of a former state Democratic chair, I’m in love!
Laura was clearly a badass, smart, talented, precocious, compassionate woman who also had struggled with mental illness. Her story that you’ve unearthed from a few of her artworks found at a sale have brought forward her incredible story to light.
She deserves a museum exhibition, and PBS documentary, and a book of her life and her work and her story and how it can change how we see people with mental illness.
I’m so glad you pursued this fascination with the items you found into this incredible story.
Thank you for keeping us up with this story – it’s so cool to witness it unfolding like this!
Sad that 70 years later there still hasn’t been a female president!
Sending love x
Wow Minnie Fisher Cunningham is pretty famous in Texas.
I am just enthralled with this story. Just got out of my psychiatrist appointment and saw this update, and had to sit in the car reading it before doing anything else. I feel like there is a little bit of me in Laura, since I’m certain that were I alive in her time, I too, would be institutionalized.
We love a heroine.
I love hearing each new discovery in this tale, Laura sounds like she was a remarkable woman!
Love this story! Thank you for all your research and dedication to making Laura heard. I definitely would buy a book about her and her art. I still think you should publish a book about her and her art, and now her writing!
Truly amazing!!! Thank you for pursuing this – she seems like a wonderful woman! Love that you’ve been able to find these things from her.
Thank you for all of the research done by you and others to bring her story to light. When you have found sufficient information would you consider writing a book about her life? I would truly love that.
This is really cool! What an interesting story you have stumbled upon.
I wish I could be there for your conversation on mental health and art. I am a consumer of my local mental health center, and I also am on their Consumer Advisory Council. A few years back I proposed to the then CEO that we start an art show of consumer art, and the behavioral health center purchased the art and has kept it on display. I love using art in my own treatment and it is a joy to see the art of others that do as well. I too am positive that I would have been institutionalized if I lived in the times of Laura. Thanks for sharing her story. It was one that needed to be shared.
She lived in my neighborhood, right next to Trinity. My house was built in the 20s so I bet she took walks right past here.
Thank you for finding Laura and making sure she wasn’t forgotten. Every. Single. Person. is important and makes a difference in this world & throughout history, even if we don’t think we do. Thank you for making sure her voice is still heard today.
I might just write Minnie Fisher Cunningham in on my ballot, with Laura Perea as her running mate! No candidate we have currently seems as solid as her.
Oh Jenny ! This is so interesting and fascinating !! What a blessing you are !!
I just love this !!
This is an amazing saga. Good for you for uncovering it with the help of librarians!
I’m glad you cared so much and that we get to learn the story. Laura Perea is a badass!
I cannot read enough of this. It’s the idea that Laura’s story is being carried forward by you. Her voice is just amazing, too and I can only imagine that she raised Hell in that asylum. Thank you for doing this wonderful work, Jenny. BTW, which library helped you?
(I went to Sam Houston University Library first and they sent me to the University of Houston Library who was able to find it in their archives. ~ Jenny)
I’m loving this! Thank you for doing all this research and bring her life to us. I love that she was so sassy!
I agree with others here that this should be your next book! What a fascinating story, and great discovery due to your perseverance.
This is so amazing. A true life history lesson. Thank you for all your work on this and being Laura’s champion! I cannot wait to hear all about your talk with her friend.
Jenny, bless you and the archivists that have helped you find all of this! Has any professional historian approached you about potentially writing/co-authoring something about Laura and her life and struggles? Because I am a historian of US women who teaches in South Texas, and I can see where this would be an AMAZING article and/or book that could incorporate both history and the present perspective. Would you think of possibly writing something from both perspectives with a co-author, even? I would LOVE to talk about this more with you. Seriously, this is something truly special…
Also, the profession of social work and the discipline of sociology were both created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, largely by women who were shut out of other disciplines and professions by men who didn’t want the increasing number of college-educated women in “their” fields. The University of Chicago was a leading force in that movement. So she might very well have been a star in those fields as well as political science–though because of her clear involvement with “Minnie Fish,” political science is a good guess as well.
(I love this idea but I have to finish my other book before thinking about the next. 🙂 ~ Jenny)
I wonder if she truly had a mental illness or if she was just an inconveniently brilliant & opinionated woman. The Patriarchy is particularly fond of marginalizing women who know how to use their voice.
Also, and this may not make any sense–I need to think about this and do some more digging–but could “Benson” be a reference to Texas Democrat Lloyd “Bentsen”? He was out of office at the time–he was in the House of Representatives from 1949-1955 and then the Senate from 1971-1993–but I suppose there could be some kind of connection there. Laura seems to have been very critical of Cold War politics and Red Scare tactics, so it seems as though her Democratic leanings are coming out in the cartoon. Hard to remember that Texas back then was very much a “Yellow Dog” Democrat state (that voters would vote for anyone so long as they were a Democrat, including a “yellow dog”).
(Looks like it was an unsuccessful farming plan named after the Agricultural secretary Ezra Benson. ~ Jenny)
“Traitors, senor, are subject to prosecution.” I’m dead. I was in love with just those first few artworks with zero context. But to see this story unfold, particularly as a history student, particularly within the context of mental health and generational trauma, it’s just…..no words for how much I love this woman, how much I want to know more of her story read her words and see her art. What a testament to the power of art and expression to connect us through time and space.
Holy shit I’m so invested in her character and her life and I’m just loving being able to read about unearthing this personality. As a librarian, I’m so curious to get a play-by-play of the research and archival side of this – a la finding your roots or who do you think you are- because I want to know every step of the way how things were uncovered through research. What an amazing woman
This gave me goosebumps! I am adding her to my ever-growing list of people I would want to meet if I could ever time-travel.
Hi, Jenny. This is a fascinating saga. Just wondering if you’ve contacted (or heard of?) the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore Md? It’s a terrific museum of outsider art. This seems like it might be right up their alley. avam.org
(I emailed them when I first found her work but I never heard back from them. Maybe I’ll try again once I have everything together though. ~ Jenny)
“Start proceedings against me, as a traitor, or hold your tongue.” Dayuuum. Talk about the courage of your convictions. I never have the confidence in my own opinions to express myself with such force.
(Same, friend. ~ Jenny)
Benson I think may be a reference to Ezra Taft Benson, who was agriculture secretary (I believe) during the Eisenhower administration.
He was also a leader of the Mormon Church in his dotage. IIRC, he had a son or grandson who was a editorial cartoonist back in the 70s and 80s.
Fan-freaking-tastic! Jenny, thank you so much for bringing Laura Perea’s works back to light. Her writing style draws me in immediately and reminds me of several other bad-ass, politically astute women whom I have been privileged to know.
For those wondering about the Benson Plan, here’s a link to a short article. https://time.com/archive/6872812/the-campaign-battle-over-benson/
I have to wonder if Laura was institutionalized not because of mental illness, but because she wasn’t a “proper” woman, then the mental illness was made worse because of where she was basically being held prisoner. I think she and her sister were probably under a lot of pressure to act like a “lady” should.
This is absolutely freaking AMAZING. Oh, how I wish I had been in that room! Now I need to know more about Minnie Fisher!
I have loved this saga so much!! Maybe your next book can be about this journey? I am also wondering what others have said – how much of her institutionalization was for honorable care and how much was for her ahead-of-her-time ideals and advanced intelligence? Not fair to strong women then, and the consequences are not fair to those needing legitimate help today. Thank you for bringing her art and words and life to us
Here is another article about Benson. He was Secretary of Agriculture under Eisenhower. I was instantly intrigued when the article began with reference to Eisenhower’s visit to Kasson, MN, near where I grew up. I’ve driven past that farm field thousands of times.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3741521
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3741521
“… in case you want to read it”
I absorbed every syllable, feeling the loss of such intelligent writing in what passes for reporting today.
I wonder how much the loss of 10 years of childhood might have played in the mental development/crippling of the girls. Attending university as nine-year-olds?!?! I was still playing outside ‘until the street lights came on’ at that age!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I’m loving this story more than I can say. Although I can’t say it as eloquently as you or Laura, I believe she has found her voice in you and you have found a powerful muse in her, so many years after she lived. She was truly ahead of her time, wise beyond her place and time (the Vietnam commentary – holy cow!) And where would we be without librarians – who are so sadly today under attack. I am in awe of everyone involved in this beautiful and heartbreaking account.
Don’t you just love library work? They get to do this all day
This keeps getting better and better. Thank you for sharing her story with us.
This has been really cool to follow! Thanks
Maybe this is your next book?…
For the folk(s) who were wondering about the Benson Plan, I did find this. I thought it had something to do with farmers (but I’m old, not THAT old, but old enough to remember Ike, etc) – anywho, here’s the link: https://time.com/archive/6802642/the-nation-ezra-bensons-harvest/
Just a thought: given her eloquence and spirit, might she have been committed involuntarily to shut her up (and down)? Wasn’t uncommon (probably still isn’t), and given the political climate and all, would/could have been the result of gaslighting and/or threats of worse. “You can either go willingly, or not. But you’re going.” Depends on who had ‘control’ over her. Laws on the rights of women varied widely across the political and socio-economic spectrum all over the world. If she’s up, speaking and criticizing and making sense, truth-telling etc.., she might well have been purposefully misdiagnosed. Just a thought (from the first time I saw her work here on your blog…)
Jenny, I believe you have a very good start on a non-fiction biography that needs to be written. I wasn’t all that interested when you first posted Laura’s sketches, but I’ve become fascinated with her story as you find out more. Please, keep researching…and write the book!
So, Jenny, how is your current book coming along?
(Slower than I want it too, but it’s picking up now. 🙂 ~Jenny)
I have dedicated my academic and personal life to researching the ways in which women have been silenced. Laura sounds like so many other women who were demonized (by mental health diagnoses) and put away, taken off the market where they could not compete with men. I hope you’ll write about this in a non-fiction piece. It’s a critically important issue that needs to be dissected as women are being demonized by politicians who are criminalizing our bodies. Another form of silencing! Who needs a mental institution when we have an ongoing war over reproductive justice to drive us crazy.
Jenny this is amazing! You’ve done so much to find out about this woman and she’d a light on the mental health situation in the mid 1990s.
you finding all this was certainly meant to be! her life coming back to us in your hands, thank you so much for sharing.
This has been great information. Have you run across anything new since this piece?
This is such a fascinating discovery! It’s incredible how you’ve been able to piece together the story of Laura Perea. Her writing is both insightful and powerful. I’m looking forward to learning more about her and her work.
Your dedication to uncovering her story is inspiring. Thank you for sharing your findings with us. I can’t wait to see the exhibit and hear more about Laura Perea.
khalidelarbi
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