Cecilia García Akers shares her memories and discusses her father’s legacy in her new biography, "The Inspiring Life of Texan Héctor P. García" (The History Press, 2016), at the Library of Congress on Friday, May 20 at noon in the Whittall Pavilion, located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The program, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Library’s Veterans History Project (VHP), in collaboration with the Library of Congress Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs.

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with several other distinctions and decorations, the Mexican-born American civil-rights pioneer Dr. Héctor P. García is remembered as a father, physician, surgeon and tireless champion for equality, education and voting rights. In 1948, García, a World War II veteran, founded the American G.I. Forum, a group initially aimed at promoting veterans’ rights. Under his leadership, it played a key role in the American civil-rights movement, resulting in important victories in Texas and throughout the nation. While leading the civil-rights struggle, García continued to serve as a medical doctor in Corpus Christi, providing care to those in greatest need.

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