Dallas ISD set to dedicate Hector P. Garcia Middle School

by Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista

School named after pioneer who fought for rights of Mexican-Americans.

DALLAS — Dr. Hector P. Garcia was a man that deserves to be remembered. Though he died in 1996 at the age of 82, his work and accomplishments live on.

He was a World War II veteran and South Texas medical doctor who treated patients regardless of whether or not they could afford his services. Yet his most famous accomplishment came when he fought on behalf of his fellow Mexican-American veterans who were denied medical and financial benefits by the Veterans Administration.

He was so determined to help these veterans receive what was due them that he is credited with forming the national organization known as the American GI Forum.

Dr. Garcia’s fight for the basic rights of Mexican-Americans led him to cross paths with a young Senator from Texas named Lyndon B. Johnson.

Dr. Garcia turned to Johnson for help when a funeral home director in Three Rivers, Texas (located halfway between San Antonio and Corpus Christi) refused to let the family of a young Mexican-American private killed in the Philippines use its chapel for his services.

Johnson not only intervened but arranged it so that the young private was buried in Arlington National Cemetery — the first Mexican-American to receive the honor.

From veterans, Dr. Garcia turned his attention to equalizing workplace opportunities for Latinos and championing school desegregation. Along the way, he received a host of awards: a Bronze Star and six Battle Stars for his World War II service, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he was named to the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II in 1990.

But for all his achievements that guarantee a place for him in history, there’s no greater assurance that he will be remembered on a day-to-day basis than when a school carries his name.

This Saturday, the Dallas Independent School District is set to dedicate the district’s 36th Middle School. Its name is the Hector P. Garcia Middle School.

Built to educate 1,200 students in grades six, seven and eight, the school already has 828 students who have been busily learning about their school’s namesake through a school-wide essay contest.

Expanding on the topic “Hector P. Garcia and his place in history,” the three winners: sixth grader, Joshua Ruvalcaba; seventh grader, Coraima Ortiz and and eighth grade winner, Miriam Carmona, will join DISD dignitaries, their schoolmates and their families, and Dr. Garcia’s family members for the dedication.

Though Dr. Garcia lived most of his life in South Texas and his daughter Cecilia and her family live in San Antonio, Dallas does have ties to this Latino Civil Rights pioneer.

Dr. Garcia’s niece, Yolette Garcia, who is the director of Dallas public radio station KERA’s multimedia arts unit, and her brother Dr. Xico R. Garcia will be joining their prima in celebrating a man that deserves to be remembered — by all ages.

The school’s dedication takes place on Saturday, September 29 at 2 p.m. The school is located at 700 East Eighth Street in Dallas.