Hector perez garcia biography

Hector Garcia moved from Mexico to the United States with his family when he was a toddler. Though he faced prejudice and quota systems in school he was able to obtain a medical degree.

Hector p garcia siblings

Army, and after the war he settled in Corpus Christi, Texas. There, Garcia started a medical practice while also embarking upon a career of civil rights activism after he witnessed the difficulties Mexican American veterans faced when trying to access benefits. Garcia founded the American G. Forum in to advocate for these veterans. The organization — which grew to have chapters across the country and remains active to this day — also worked on causes such as school desegregation and eliminating the poll tax in Texas.

What is hector p. garcia known for

Garcia was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in The violence of the Mexican Revolution prompted his family to leave Mexico and legally move to Texas in when Garcia was 3 years old. Garcia was naturalized as a citizen in Garcia grew up in Mercedes, Texas. He did well in school, becoming his high school's valedictorian when he graduated in Garcia later revealed he'd been motivated to succeed in part because a teacher once said to him , "No Mexican will ever make an 'A' in my class.

Due to a quota system , he was the only Latino in his class. Discrimination meant Garcia couldn't find a residency spot in Texas.