Lilia Raquel Rosas, Ph.D.

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Lilia Raquel Rosas, Ph.D.

Lilia Raquel Rosas, Ph.D.


Lilia Raquel Rosas is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but also calls Austin home after living and working with its diverse communities for over two and half decades, including as the Executive Director of Red Salmon Arts. She is the proud daughter of a retired cook/former bracero and a retired domestica. She joined the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at UT Austin as an Assistant Professor of Instruction in 2018, where her teaching and research interests include relational and comparative Ethnic and Queer Studies through the histories of (me)Xicana/o/s, African Americans, women, indigeneity, and race and sexualities. Recently, Lilia Raquel was awarded a U.S. Latino Digital Humanities-Mellon Foundation Grants-in-Aid to initiate the project, Tejana Historias: Indigenous Indentations and Transfrontera Transformation, a visual repository of the Tejana experiences from the Paleoindian Period to the present. 

Commemorating 250 years of American independence through the stories, people, and places that shaped Texas and the nation.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, Texans have a unique opportunity to reflect on the state’s role in the American story. Through exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and community events across Texas, Texas America250 encourages celebration, reflection, and commemoration at both local and statewide levels. At the Texas State Historical Association, we are proud to support this important moment through our mission-driven work in history education and public engagement, including Texas History Day, and we invite students, educators, and communities to explore this milestone in meaningful ways.

On July 4, 2026, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the greatest nation in the history of the world. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Long may these ideals live in the heart of every Texan and every American. May God bless all who have defended our freedoms that we enjoy each day. And God bless the United States of America.

Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas

Commemorating 250 years of American independence through the stories, people, and places that shaped Texas and the nation.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, Texans have a unique opportunity to reflect on the state’s role in the American story. Through exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and community events across Texas, Texas America250 encourages celebration, reflection, and commemoration at both local and statewide levels. At the Texas State Historical Association, we are proud to support this important moment through our mission-driven work in history education and public engagement, including Texas History Day, and we invite students, educators, and communities to explore this milestone in meaningful ways.

On July 4, 2026, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the greatest nation in the history of the world. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Long may these ideals live in the heart of every Texan and every American. May God bless all who have defended our freedoms that we enjoy each day. And God bless the United States of America.

Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas

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