Mexican American Injustices

Garcia worked with both President John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson closely. With the Kennedy race on and their poll taxes paid by the American GI Forum, Mexican Americans had become prominent in helping Kennedy be elected. The Viva Kennedy campaign was a big hit, inspiring many Mexicans to use their voting privileges to make a difference in society. As a trusted advisor, Dr. “Garcia was appointed by Kennedy to negotiate a mutual defense and aid agreement with the federation of West Indies Islands” (Ramos 88). His opinion held power and because of that, the president sought past the colored tags and chose Garcia for his courage and selflessness. The sudden death of Kennedy destroyed the hope of equality for some individuals and brought a new
After serving the United States for six years Garcia and other war veterans were:
“angered by the continued discrimination that greeted them after the war, [they] strove to achieve political power and status by making good use of their war record. Mexicans were still subjected to segregation …. A dynamic organization that zealously sought the protection of civil rights for veterans was the American [Government Issue] Forum. Mexican American veterans organized it in response to the refusal of a funeral home … [They] opened up [their] membership to veterans and went on to become a leading advocate for civil rights”. (Rosales
“Garcia Knew firsthand what Mexican Americans had experienced and achieved overseas in combat” (Ramos 4). As a WWII veteran serving to help his nation, he knew the valuable time Mexican-American veterans put towards serving their adopted country. Being of different ethnicity “they were being treated as a “class apart” from the mainstream white community. To Americans, Mexican communities appeared lower class. Using Media to communicate, “Hector Garcia [assisted] the novelist, taking her to the GI forum meetings [throughout] the region and introducing her to the problems in the barrios” (Pycior, 101). He shared the struggles of his community by exposing the poverty in the barrios that were unsanitary, crowded, and rural. Garcia recognized the diffusion that needed to occur in order to make others aware of the Mexican American injustices. Reaching out to others about their problems allowed them to gain the support needed to strengthen their voice. The author Pycior writes of Johnson’s old friend, Hector Garcia, and twelve leaders, who wrote to Johnson, notifying them of their exclusion from Federal government (101). Not hesitating to make a complaint, the Mexican American leaders formed a strong front that could fore stand the constant political attempts to exclude Mexican American voices. They attempted to exclude Mexican Americans by requiring poll taxes and providing poor education as well as using language barriers to their advantage. Leading the Mexicans Americans