Alliance of Pan American Round Tables

The Pan American Round Table (PART) was founded by Florence Terry Griswold in San Antonio, Texas on October 16, 1916. The impetus to found the organization was Griswold's concern for women and children refugees of the Mexican Revolution and the need to help them and better understand their lives. She believed that an apolitical and nonsectarian, with no commercial purpose nor alignment with any national government could help build bridges between nations that businessmen and politicians were unable to foster due to their motivations. If women could develop an understanding and cooperation among themselves, on the concept of the Round Table equality, she thought that they could influence men to do the same. Calling the inaugural meeting at the Menger Hotel, the charter members, besides Griswold were Mary Burleson Bee (Mrs. Carlos); Ella Dancy Dibrell (Mrs. Joseph Burton Dibrell); Anna Hertzberg (Mrs. Eli Hertzberg); Olivia Nolte (Mrs. Walter Nolte); Mary Pancoast (Mrs. Aaron C. "A. C." Pancoast); among others.[1][2]

Griswold served as the first director and in 1921, the second chapter opened in Laredo[1] and later that same year, Eugenia Schuster opened the branch in El Paso.[3] In 1922, the chapter in Austin,[1] as well as the state organization were founded. Griswold founded the state organization and became the first State Director to coordinate the activities of the various branches.[2] Round Tables in other countries followed with the first branch established in Mexico City in 1928.[1] In 1936, Ángela Acuña de Chacon founded the first branch in Costa Rica at San Jose and the following year, the Dallas chapter was founded by Katherine S. Robinson (Mrs. Stone J. Robinson).[2]

In the early 1940s, Emma Gutiérrez Suárez joined the Mexican branch. She would later become the chapter's National Director.[4] Upon Griswold's death in 1941, Robinson became the State Director and Nolte proposed that a scholarship, named in Griswold's honor be granted annually for young Latin American women wanting to further their education in the United States to enable them give back to their home country upon completion of their schooling.[2] In 1944 the international body, the Alliance of Pan American Round Tables (Spanish: Alizanza de Mesas Redondas Panamericanas) was founded in Mexico City[1] with Robinson as the first international Director General. By 1946 a Cuban branch had been formed and by the time of the organization's fiftieth anniversary, there had been chapters created in all of the countries of the Americas except, Canada, Haiti and Venezuela.[2]

The present day organization has around 1,400 chapters with each operating as an autonomous entity with their own governing documents. Most chapters provide educational programs and financial aid packages for Latin American students, as well as cultural programs. In 1991, the Florence Terry Griswold Endowment Fund was created to maintain its scholarship program in perpetuity.[10] The 100th Anniversary of the organization was held with their biennial convention in San Antonio, Texas from October 26 to 29, 2016.[11]

The archival records of the organization were housed in Mexico City until the 1970s. In 1977, the member of the Mexico City PART chapter who was housing them at her home, brought a discussion for a permanent archive. Because the Bylaws of the Alliance required that Mexico City was required to maintain the archive, formal amendment of the governing documents had to occur. In 1978, the proposal to found a permanent archive was suggested at the convention held in Fort Worth, Texas and approved. In 1979, the records were transferred to the University of Texas at Austin library.[6]