Hector P. Garcia
Encyclopedia
Hector Perez Garcia was a Mexican-American
physician
, surgeon
, World War II
veteran
, civil rights
advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. As a result of the national prominence he earned through his work on behalf of Hispanic
Americans, he was instrumental in the appointment of Mexican American and American G.I. Forum charter member Vicente T. Ximenes
to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
in 1966, was named alternate ambassador
to the United Nations
in 1967, was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
in 1968, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1984, and was named to the Order of St. Gregory the Great
by Pope John Paul II
in 1990.
land grant
ees, Dr. García was born in the city of Llera, Tamaulipas
, México
, to José García García and Faustina Peréz García, both schoolteachers
. His family fled the violence of the Mexican Revolution
in 1917, legally immigrating to Mercedes, Texas
. His father's professional credentials were unrecognized in this new country, so he went into the dry goods business. His parents instilled a love and respect for education in all of their ten children, and expected them all to become medical doctors. Indeed, Hector and five of his siblings, José Antonio García, Clotilde Pérez García, Cuitláhuac Pérez García, Xicotencátl Pérez García, and Dalia García-Malison did become physicians.
In 1929, he joined the Citizens Military Training Corps, a peacetime branch of the United States Army
. He graduated from a segregated high school in 1932, and in the same year earned a commission from the CMTC with a rank equivalent to a second lieutenant in the U.S. infantry
. He began attending Edinburg Junior College, to and from which he had to hitchhike
thirty miles daily. His father had to cash in his life insurance policy to finance young Hector's education. In 1932, García entered the University of Texas at Austin
, graduating with a degree in zoology
. He was one of the top ten of his class. He went on to study at the University of Texas at Galveston
, earning his doctorate in medicine
in 1940. He accomplished his residency at St. Joseph's Hospital at Creighton University
in Omaha, Nebraska
.
, where he rose to the rank of major
, earned the Bronze Star
, and six battle stars
. While in Italy
, he met and fell in love with Wanda Fusillo of Naples
, who he married in 1945. His first child Daisy Wanda was born in 1946.
, where the League of United Latin American Citizens
had been formed to defend the rights of Hispanic Americans seven years earlier. He opened a private medical practice with his brother José Antonio, where he treated all patients regardless of their ability to pay. In 1947, he was elected president of the local chapter of LULAC. In the same year he was hospitalized with life-threatening acute nephritis
. While recuperating, he heard the local superintendent of schools bragging about the segregation in his district. At that moment, he made a private oath that if he recovered he would dedicate his life to the equality of his people.
. He helped veterans to obtain services from the VA since the administration was slow to respond to the Hispanic American veterans' needs. In 1948 he began an investigation of conditions for migrant laborers in Mathis, Texas
. He found the impoverished workers to be ill-clothed, malnourished, and diseased from lack of basic sanitation. On March 26 of the same year, he called a meeting to address the concerns of Mexican American veterans. This meeting developed into the American G.I. Forum, which soon had chapters in 40 Texas cities and became the primary vehicle by which Mexican American veterans expressed their discontent with the official discrimination against them and asserted their right to equality. The name was chosen to emphasize the fact that the Forum's participants were American citizens entitled to their Constitutional rights. Later, the Forum's patriotism would exempt them from FBI infiltration at a time when many Mexican American organizations were accused of having Marxist
sympathies.
killed the Mexican American private Félix Longoria
in the Philippines
. His body was returned to Texas in 1949, where his widow
's request of the use of the funeral chapel in Three Rivers
was denied, the funeral director claiming that "the whites won't like it". García and the G.I. Forum intervened, petitioning then-senator Lyndon B. Johnson
for redress of the outrage. Johnson secured the hero's burial in Arlington National Cemetery
, where he became the first Mexican American to be awarded the honor. The issue garnered national attention after being published in the New York Times, and propelled the G.I. Forum to the forefront of the movement for civil rights. Following the incident, the G.I. Forum expanded into New Mexico
and Colorado
.
es of the indigent and campaigned against the Bracero Program
, infamous for exploiting migrant laborers. Dr. García testified before the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor, asserting that "The migrant problem is not only a national emergency, it has become a national shame on the American conscience." This work brought him into contact with such figures as Hubert Humphrey
, Arthur Goldberg
and George McGovern
. The organization, and the attention it drew to poverty and discrimination in Texas, also got the attention of Look magazine
, which published an article on the diphtheria
, infant diarrhea
, and tuberculosis
affecting the neglected community.
In 1953, the G.I. Forum published its own study, "What Price Wetbacks", on farm labor in South Texas, as well as having Lyndon Johnson speak at their statewide convention. In 1954, attorneys funded by the G.I. Forum and LULAC argued and won Hernandez v. Texas
in the Supreme Court of the United States
. The decision, one of the Warren
court's first, threw out the plaintiff's murder conviction on the grounds that he had not had a jury of his peers. Court records showed that there had been nobody with a Spanish surname had served on a jury in the county for twenty five years. The desegregating decision in Brown v. the Board of Education was handed down the next year, with its extension to integregated education for Mexican American citizens being pursued by LULAC and the G.I. Forum in the Texas Supreme Court
cases against the Driscoll
, Carrizo Springs
, and Kingsville
independent school districts.
In 1960, García became national coordinator of the Viva Kennedy clubs organized to elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy president. He is credited with delivering 85% of the Hispanic vote to the Democratic party
in that close election. The civil rights agenda of the Forum, however, was not at the forefront of the Kennedy administration's platform, and García and his supporters were forced to content themselves with his perfunctory appointment as representative of the United States in mutual defense treaty talks with the Federation of West Indies Islands
in 1962. The talks were successful, and the appointment was notable as the first instance that a Mexican American had represented an American president. After Kennedy's assassination
, his successor Lyndon Johnson appointed García Presidential Representative with the rank of Special Ambassador to the presidential inauguration ceremonies of Dr. Raúl Leoni
in Venezuela
.
In 1966, through the efforts of the Forum and other groups, the Texas poll tax was repealed. The forum also undertook a march on the Texas state capital to protest the low wages of Mexican agricultural laborers. In 1967, President Johnson appointed García alternate ambassador to the United Nations. He was tasked with the improvement of relations with Latin America
n nations. He made history when, on October 26, he became the first United States representative to speak before the U.N. in a language other than English
. Starting in 1968, Dr. García and the other members of the G.I. Forum began accompanying families of fallen soldiers to the airport to collect the bodies when they returned from Vietnam
. He would often eulogize the soldier, and never refused a request to speak at any funeral.
In the same year, President Johnson appointed him to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In 1972, García was arrested at a sit-in protest
of the de facto
segregation in Corpus Christi school district. He consulted with President Carter
several times during the 1970s. In 1987, he became involved in the struggle against the campaign to name English the official language of the United States. His final project was to improve the standard of living in the colonias in the Rio Grande Valley
along the United States–Mexico border
.
In the realm of popular culture, in 1950, Pulitzer Prize
winner Edna Ferber
to get a sense of the Mexican American experience in Texas interviewed Garcia She later wrote the 1952 novel Giant, basing some of the incidents in the work on her interview. The book was later turned into a 1956 film starring James Dean
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Rock Hudson
, and Dennis Hopper
.
In 1985, the Dr. Héctor Pérez García Endowed Chair was created at Yale University
. In 1988, the main branch of the Corpus Christi post office was renamed in his honor. In 1996, a nine-foot statue of him was dedicated at Texas A&M
's Corpus Christi campus. In 1999, his image was placed on the U.S. Treasury's $75 I Bond series honoring great Americans.
A biography was written by Michelle Kells titled "Hector P. Garcia: Everyday Rhetoric and Mexican American Civil Rights".
In 2002, public television station KEDT in Corpus Christi, Texas produced a documentary on him entitled "Justice for my People: The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Story". The program was broadcast nationally on PBS.
Under Senate Bill 495, Signed on May 30, 2009 by the Governor of Texas, The State of Texas established the third Wednesday of each September as "Dr. Hector P. Garcia Day."
In April, 2010 the United States House of Representatives passed H.CON.RES.222, recognizing the leadership and historical contributions of Dr. Hector Garcia to the Hispanic community and his remarkable efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States of America.
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. As a result of the national prominence he earned through his work on behalf of Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
Americans, he was instrumental in the appointment of Mexican American and American G.I. Forum charter member Vicente T. Ximenes
Vicente T. Ximenes
Among his many achievements, Vicente T. Ximenes continues today as a Mexican-American civil rights leader. Ximenes was raised in the town of Floresville, Texas, where he, along with the Mexican American community, were subjected to racial segregation. After graduating from high school, Ximenes...
to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an independent federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence,...
in 1966, was named alternate ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1967, was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
United States Commission on Civil Rights
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is historically a bipartisan, independent commission of the U.S. federal government charged with the responsibility for investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues that face the nation.-Commissioners:The Commission is...
in 1968, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1984, and was named to the Order of St. Gregory the Great
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great , was established on September 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election.It is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 1990.
Early life
A descendant from SpanishSpanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
ees, Dr. García was born in the city of Llera, Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, México
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, to José García García and Faustina Peréz García, both schoolteachers
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. His family fled the violence of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
in 1917, legally immigrating to Mercedes, Texas
Mercedes, Texas
Mercedes is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,570 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mercedes is located at ....
. His father's professional credentials were unrecognized in this new country, so he went into the dry goods business. His parents instilled a love and respect for education in all of their ten children, and expected them all to become medical doctors. Indeed, Hector and five of his siblings, José Antonio García, Clotilde Pérez García, Cuitláhuac Pérez García, Xicotencátl Pérez García, and Dalia García-Malison did become physicians.
In 1929, he joined the Citizens Military Training Corps, a peacetime branch of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He graduated from a segregated high school in 1932, and in the same year earned a commission from the CMTC with a rank equivalent to a second lieutenant in the U.S. infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. He began attending Edinburg Junior College, to and from which he had to hitchhike
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
thirty miles daily. His father had to cash in his life insurance policy to finance young Hector's education. In 1932, García entered the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, graduating with a degree in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
. He was one of the top ten of his class. He went on to study at the University of Texas at Galveston
University of Texas Medical Branch
The University of Texas Medical Branch is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, United States, about 50 miles southeast of Downtown Houston...
, earning his doctorate in medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
in 1940. He accomplished his residency at St. Joseph's Hospital at Creighton University
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.
Army career
Upon completing his internship in 1942, García volunteered for combat in the army, where he was placed in command of a company of infantry. Later, he commanded a company of combat engineers before being transferred to the medical corps. He was stationed in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where he rose to the rank of major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
, earned the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
, and six battle stars
Service star
A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...
. While in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, he met and fell in love with Wanda Fusillo of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, who he married in 1945. His first child Daisy Wanda was born in 1946.
Life after the war
In 1946, with the war over, García and his family returned to South Texas, settling in Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, where the League of United Latin American Citizens
League of United Latin American Citizens
The League of United Latin American Citizens was created to combat the discrimination that Hispanics face in the United States. Established February 17, 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas, LULAC was a consolidation of smaller, like-minded civil rights groups already in existence...
had been formed to defend the rights of Hispanic Americans seven years earlier. He opened a private medical practice with his brother José Antonio, where he treated all patients regardless of their ability to pay. In 1947, he was elected president of the local chapter of LULAC. In the same year he was hospitalized with life-threatening acute nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
. While recuperating, he heard the local superintendent of schools bragging about the segregation in his district. At that moment, he made a private oath that if he recovered he would dedicate his life to the equality of his people.
Founding of the American G.I. Forum
After being discharged from the hospital, he began helping other Mexican American veterans file claims with the Veteran's AdministrationUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
. He helped veterans to obtain services from the VA since the administration was slow to respond to the Hispanic American veterans' needs. In 1948 he began an investigation of conditions for migrant laborers in Mathis, Texas
Mathis, Texas
Mathis is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,034 at the 2000 census.In 1887 when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was laying tracks across San Patricio County, Thomas H. Mathis got naming rights when he donated for a townsite and school. Mathis could...
. He found the impoverished workers to be ill-clothed, malnourished, and diseased from lack of basic sanitation. On March 26 of the same year, he called a meeting to address the concerns of Mexican American veterans. This meeting developed into the American G.I. Forum, which soon had chapters in 40 Texas cities and became the primary vehicle by which Mexican American veterans expressed their discontent with the official discrimination against them and asserted their right to equality. The name was chosen to emphasize the fact that the Forum's participants were American citizens entitled to their Constitutional rights. Later, the Forum's patriotism would exempt them from FBI infiltration at a time when many Mexican American organizations were accused of having Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
sympathies.
Félix Longoria
In 1945, a Japanese sniperSniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
killed the Mexican American private Félix Longoria
Felix Longoria
Pvt. Felix Z. Longoria , a soldier, who served in the United States Army during World War II and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.-Personal:In November 1944 Felix Z...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. His body was returned to Texas in 1949, where his widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
's request of the use of the funeral chapel in Three Rivers
Three Rivers, Texas
Three Rivers is a city in Live Oak County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,878 at the 2000 census.The city is named for its proximity to three rivers, the Atascosa River, the Frio River, and the Nueces River...
was denied, the funeral director claiming that "the whites won't like it". García and the G.I. Forum intervened, petitioning then-senator Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
for redress of the outrage. Johnson secured the hero's burial in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, where he became the first Mexican American to be awarded the honor. The issue garnered national attention after being published in the New York Times, and propelled the G.I. Forum to the forefront of the movement for civil rights. Following the incident, the G.I. Forum expanded into New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
The American G.I. Forum and American politics
The American G.I. Forum became a recognized voice for Mexican Americans in the post-World War II era. Besides providing veterans a social and political network, the forum also raised funds to pay the poll taxPoll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
es of the indigent and campaigned against the Bracero Program
Bracero Program
The Bracero Program was a series of laws and diplomatic agreements, initiated by an August 1942 exchange of diplomatic notes between the United States and Mexico, for the importation of temporary contract laborers from Mexico to the United States.American president Franklin D...
, infamous for exploiting migrant laborers. Dr. García testified before the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor, asserting that "The migrant problem is not only a national emergency, it has become a national shame on the American conscience." This work brought him into contact with such figures as Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg was an American statesman and jurist who served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
and George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
. The organization, and the attention it drew to poverty and discrimination in Texas, also got the attention of Look magazine
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
, which published an article on the diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
, infant diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
, and tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
affecting the neglected community.
In 1953, the G.I. Forum published its own study, "What Price Wetbacks", on farm labor in South Texas, as well as having Lyndon Johnson speak at their statewide convention. In 1954, attorneys funded by the G.I. Forum and LULAC argued and won Hernandez v. Texas
Hernandez v. Texas
Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that decided that Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States had equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution....
in the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. The decision, one of the Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
court's first, threw out the plaintiff's murder conviction on the grounds that he had not had a jury of his peers. Court records showed that there had been nobody with a Spanish surname had served on a jury in the county for twenty five years. The desegregating decision in Brown v. the Board of Education was handed down the next year, with its extension to integregated education for Mexican American citizens being pursued by LULAC and the G.I. Forum in the Texas Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...
cases against the Driscoll
Driscoll, Texas
Driscoll is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States. The population was 825 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Driscoll is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Carrizo Springs
Carrizo Springs, Texas
Carrizo Springs is a city in and the county seat of Dimmit County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,655 at the 2000 census.The name of the town comes from the local springs, which were named by the Spanish for the cane grass that once grew around them. It is the oldest town in Dimmit...
, and Kingsville
Kingsville, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,575 people, 8,943 households, and 6,134 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,848.8 people per square mile . There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 753.8 per square mile...
independent school districts.
In 1960, García became national coordinator of the Viva Kennedy clubs organized to elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy president. He is credited with delivering 85% of the Hispanic vote to the Democratic party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in that close election. The civil rights agenda of the Forum, however, was not at the forefront of the Kennedy administration's platform, and García and his supporters were forced to content themselves with his perfunctory appointment as representative of the United States in mutual defense treaty talks with the Federation of West Indies Islands
West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...
in 1962. The talks were successful, and the appointment was notable as the first instance that a Mexican American had represented an American president. After Kennedy's assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, his successor Lyndon Johnson appointed García Presidential Representative with the rank of Special Ambassador to the presidential inauguration ceremonies of Dr. Raúl Leoni
Raúl Leoni
Raúl Leoni Otero was President of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He fought against the dictators Juan Vicente Gómez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez, and was a charter member of the Acción Democrática party....
in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
In 1966, through the efforts of the Forum and other groups, the Texas poll tax was repealed. The forum also undertook a march on the Texas state capital to protest the low wages of Mexican agricultural laborers. In 1967, President Johnson appointed García alternate ambassador to the United Nations. He was tasked with the improvement of relations with Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n nations. He made history when, on October 26, he became the first United States representative to speak before the U.N. in a language other than English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Starting in 1968, Dr. García and the other members of the G.I. Forum began accompanying families of fallen soldiers to the airport to collect the bodies when they returned from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. He would often eulogize the soldier, and never refused a request to speak at any funeral.
In the same year, President Johnson appointed him to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In 1972, García was arrested at a sit-in protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
of the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
segregation in Corpus Christi school district. He consulted with President Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
several times during the 1970s. In 1987, he became involved in the struggle against the campaign to name English the official language of the United States. His final project was to improve the standard of living in the colonias in the Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
along the United States–Mexico border
United States–Mexico border
The United States–Mexico border is the international border between the United States and Mexico. It runs from Imperial Beach, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east, and traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major...
.
Honors and awards
Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. García was awarded multiple accolades from various governments and other organizations. They include:- The U.S. Army's Bronze Star and six battle stars, 1942–1946
- The American G.I. Forum's Medalla al Merito, 1952, for his work with Mexican American veterans
- The Republic of PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
's Condecoracion, Orden Vasco Nunez de Balboa, with the rank of commander, 1965 - The 8th United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
District honored him with a plaque in recognition of his service to the war deceased, 1967 - A humanitarian award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleNational Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
's Corpus Christi chapter, 1969 - The Distinguished Service Award from the National Office of Civil Rights, 1980
- The Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1984
- Honor Al Merito Medalla Cura Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon A.D.P.E., Mexico City, México.
- Corpus Christi Human Relations Commission's Community Service Award, 1987
- The Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organization's Humanitarian Award, 1988
- The National Hispanic Heritage FoundationHispanic Heritage FoundationThe Hispanic Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization operating out of Reston, Virginia that works to increase the number of Latina and Latino leaders in society...
's Hispanic Heritage Award in Leadership, 1989 - The Midwest/Northeast Voter Registration Project's National Hispanic Hero Award, 1989
- MAPA Award for outstanding service to Hispanics from the Mexican American Physicians' Association, 1990
- The National Association of Hispanic JournalistsNational Association of Hispanic JournalistsThe National Association of Hispanic Journalists is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the advancement of Hispanic journalists in the United States and Puerto Rico...
' Distinguished Lifetime Service Award, 1990 - The Equestrian Order of Pope Gregory the Great from Pope John Paul II, 1990
- Corpus Christi State University's first honorary doctorate of Humane Letters, 1991
- Hector Garcia Place is a short street named after Dr. Garcia, located in downtown Pueblo, Colorado.
Legacy
As one of the early pioneers of Hispanic civil rights, García's activities foreshadowed much of the struggle of the Chicano Movement. As a figure of national and international prominence, the effects of his life have been felt at all levels of society, from the poor barrios that he fought to improve, to the highest echelons of government. The end of the 1950s desegregated Texan hotels, cinemas, and restaurants. Beauty parlors and barbershops were desegregated in the 1960s, with cemeteries and swimming pools not being opened to Mexican Americans until the 1970s.In the realm of popular culture, in 1950, Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winner Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
to get a sense of the Mexican American experience in Texas interviewed Garcia She later wrote the 1952 novel Giant, basing some of the incidents in the work on her interview. The book was later turned into a 1956 film starring James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
, and Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
.
In 1985, the Dr. Héctor Pérez García Endowed Chair was created at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. In 1988, the main branch of the Corpus Christi post office was renamed in his honor. In 1996, a nine-foot statue of him was dedicated at Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
's Corpus Christi campus. In 1999, his image was placed on the U.S. Treasury's $75 I Bond series honoring great Americans.
A biography was written by Michelle Kells titled "Hector P. Garcia: Everyday Rhetoric and Mexican American Civil Rights".
In 2002, public television station KEDT in Corpus Christi, Texas produced a documentary on him entitled "Justice for my People: The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Story". The program was broadcast nationally on PBS.
Under Senate Bill 495, Signed on May 30, 2009 by the Governor of Texas, The State of Texas established the third Wednesday of each September as "Dr. Hector P. Garcia Day."
In April, 2010 the United States House of Representatives passed H.CON.RES.222, recognizing the leadership and historical contributions of Dr. Hector Garcia to the Hispanic community and his remarkable efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States of America.