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Racism also manifested itself in the English-Only movement, which the AGIF considered a violation of the right to free speech.
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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) presented Dr. Garcia with a Political Education Award, acknowledging his “crusade for voters.”
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In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. invited Dr. Garcia to a meeting to address the urgent needs of the nation’s poor.
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In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Dr. Garcia to a panel charged with selecting a judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana.
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In this 1972 letter, labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez thanks Dr. Garcia for his support of a nationwide protest on behalf of farm workers.
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The AGIF made funeral arrangements for soldiers killed overseas.
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In this letter, the Barrera family thanks Dr. Garcia and the AGIF for honoring the sacrifice of their son, a private killed in Vietnam.
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Some people found Dr. Garcia’s unrepentant activism threatening, and reacted with violence and hatred. Hate mail like this reveals the depths of the racism against which Dr. Garcia fought.
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Dr. Garcia and his family experienced racism regularly. When the Garcias were refused service at a restaurant, he alerted AGIF leaders and urged them to take action.
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In this letter to members of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Dr. Garcia announces the creation of the AGIF and describes many of the problems facing veterans in South Texas.
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The AGIF Constitution outlines the organization’s principles and goals, stating its dedication to all veterans “regardless of race, color, or creed.”
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In this notice, Dr. Garcia informs AGIF members that he will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom and expresses gratitude to his family, President Reagan, and the AGIF.
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In this document, the AGIF outlines its plan to address the deplorable living conditions in the colonias along the Texas-Mexico border.
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This AGIF flyer alerts Mexican Americans to the 1949 Texas poll tax deadline.
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In this official statement, Dr. Garcia urges Mexican Americans to vote for President Johnson, citing Johnson’s commitment to fighting poverty.
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In this letter, a member of Kennedy’s campaign team thanks Dr. Garcia for all of his work on behalf of the 1960 Kennedy-Johnson ticket.
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Dr. Garcia was instrumental in organizing Viva Kennedy clubs that supported the candidacy of John F. Kennedy. He later led Viva Johnson clubs that backed Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
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Dr. Garcia promoted equal treatment for all those serving in the armed forces. In 1948, he wrote to the local draft board protesting discrimination against Spanish-speaking draftees.
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In 1972, Dr. Garcia was arrested after he refused to vacate a school where he was staging a sit-in to protest segregation.
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Dr. Garcia was a crusader for education even before he founded the AGIF. In this 1947 document, he speaks passionately about the importance of education.
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In his quest to honor Private Longoria, Dr. Garcia reached out to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) to explain the situation and urge action.
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This flyer implores people to protest the bigotry of the funeral home that refused to host a service for Private Longoria. The massive 1949 protest brought national attention to the AGIF.
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Senator Johnson responded to Dr. Garcia’s appeals with this telegram. He arranged for Private Longoria to be buried with full military honors.
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This document is a transcription, in English, of Dr. Garcia’s statement to the UN General Assembly.
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Dr. Garcia advocated personally for the people who came to him for help. In this letter, he requests a delay in deployment for the son of a sick patient.