By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times
Clarissa Rivera broke out in tears when she thanked the American G.I. Forum for a scholarship.
The $500 will come in handy next spring, she said. But being chosen as a recipient means more to her.
"This is a reassurance that what I'm doing isn't going unnoticed," Rivera said to a packed room. "This reassures I'm doing something right."
Rivera, who is part of the radiology program at Del Mar College, was among two scholarship recipients who ceremoniously received oversized checks during a Wednesday celebration of the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Texas State Recognition Day. Nursing education major Zeferino Tinajero also is a recipient of the scholarship, which was awarded by members of the South Texas Chapter of the forum. The American G.I. Forum is a Congressionally chartered Hispanic veterans and civil rights organization that was founded by Garcia in 1948.
Read Full Article
Add your reaction
Share
The third Wednesday in September is Dr. Héctor P. García Texas State Recognition Day, honoring the work of Dr. Héctor P. García, a Mexican-American civil rights activist and founder of the American G. I. Forum. In his lifetime and among other achievements, Dr. García served in World War II where he earned numerous awards including the Bronze Star.
As founder and leader of the American G. I. Forum, the organization received national attention with its involvement with the Felix Longoria incident. Felix Longoria was a Mexican-American soldier killed during World War II. When his body was returned to his family for burial, the family was denied access to funeral services by the local funeral home in Three Rivers, Texas, because Longoria was Mexican-American. The American G. I. Forum found an ally in Senator Lyndon B. Johnson to help fight for the Longoria family. The fight led to Felix Longoria’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Read Full Story
Add your reaction
Share
MERCEDES — When Elizandro Muñoz asks his college students if they’ve heard of Martin Luther King Jr. almost everyone raises their hands, but when he asks them about Dr. Hector P. Garcia, the civil rights leader who precedes most of those mentioned in the U.S. history books, he never gets the same response.
“How can that be?” Muñoz asks. “And I tell them all your life you’ve been learning about everybody else’s history except your own.”
Muñoz is a history professor at South Texas College in Weslaco where every semester he teaches his students about Garcia, a Mexican migrant who grew up in Mercedes and spent more than 50 years fighting for equality to all and founded the American GI Forum.
Read Full Story
Add your reaction
Share
The following is a guest post by Christy Chason, Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP).
Until recently, Dr. Héctor P. García was someone about whom I knew precious little. In fact, knowing what I know now, I am embarrassed to say that I had only ever heard his name in the context of my work environment. And that is a shame.
It’s time to burn his name into your memory cells, because Dr. Héctor P. García – a Mexican-born American civil rights pioneer, loving father, decorated World War II veteran and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, physician, surgeon and champion for equality, education and voting rights – helped to change the face of this country. I think it’s fitting that we pause to recognize him today, the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Read Full Article
Add your reaction
Share
