Photogallery: Signs of Discrimination

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After World War II, Dr. Garcia returned to South Texas to find that conditions for many of his people had not changed since before the war.

"They were the poorest of the poor. A lot of those children were dying from acute gastroenteritis, nausea and vomiting." Dr. Xico Garcia, Hector's brother

This sign outside of a South Texas cafe indicated the attitude of some Anglos toward Mexican-Americans after World War II.

A Mexican-American school in South Texas. "The common experience of a Mexican-American child entering the Texas school system would be to be placed in a separate facility based on pedagogical deficiency, simply meaning the inability to speak English." Vernon Carl Allsup

This Mexican-American only school building was typical of those found in South Texas during the 1940's. Many Anglo teachers would not permit Mexican-American students to speak Spanish in class. Those students who did were often harshly punished.

A "Look" Magazine article in 1951 brought national attention, profiling Texas' Forgotten People. It told of the rampant diphtheria, infant diarrhea and tuberculosis that had ravaged many Mexican-Americans in Texas.

In 1954, the case of Pete Hernandez (seen in middle) was appealed with the GI Forum and LULAC assistance to the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the unanimous opinion that overturned Hernandez's guilty verdict. No jurors from Jackson County, Texas with Hispanic surnames had been allowed to serve on a jury there for 25 years.

Some Anglos, who felt threatened by the work of GI Forum, retaliated with threats of their own directed to Dr. Garcia. This letter suggested that Dr. Garcia go back to Mexico "where he belonged."