Free Press Houston
Posted By: Amanda Hart
“Spoiler alert: The life of Civil Rights lawyer Gus Garcia doesn’t have a happy ending, but the true story of our people lies between the echo of the gavel at the Supreme Court hearing, where he brilliantly defended our rights, to his last breath-alone, penniless, on the streets of San Antonio.” - Read the full Huffington Post article from Tony Diaz : Mexican’s Ain’t White: The Gus Garcia Story
Houston, Texas - In response to recent anti-ethnic studies bills and vetoes in the Texas legislature, The Librotraficantes are reuniting the Texas-wide coalition that recently thwarted anti-ethnic studies bills in Texas. The state-wide coalition has set out to document Mexican American History. Their first event will begin with Senator Sylvia Garcia giving a Proclamation for the first annual Gus Garcia Day to be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024. The event will take place from 4 pm - 5 pm at Talento Bilingue de Houston located at 333 S. Jensen, Houston, TX 77002.
Tejano Gus Garcia (July 27, 1915 - June 3, 1964) was the first Mexican American to win a Supreme Court case. “Hernandez vs. Texas” made Mexican Americans a protected class and set a vital precedent for Civil Rights.
Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, stated, “Gus Garcia went to the Supreme Court and in 1954 established Mexicans Americans a Protected class. Yet, 59 later, there is not one Mexican American Studies building at any Texas university-Garcia’s own home state-that I can walk into and study the oral arguments he gave to the Supreme Court. The brilliant arguments delivered to the Supreme Court by Gus Garcia, like his contributions to America, like our contributions to America, are lost to history. That changes right now.” Senator Sylvia Garcia added, “Now more than ever, it is important to honor our past leaders and remember the struggles for equality, so that we can be ever more vigilant in the attacks against the gains we’ve made.” United together we will defend our History from the classroom to the courtroom. It is time to Document our History.
Who: Senator Sylvia Garcia and The Librotraficantes, along with writers, professors, and activists from all over Texas.
What: Senator Sylvia Garcia will give the state-wide proclamation of the 1st Annual Gus Garcia Day.
When: Saturday, July 27, 2024 4 pm - 5 pm. Free Admission
Where: Talento Bilingue de Houston, 333 S. Jensen, Houston, TX 77002
Additional activities include: From 3pm to 4 pm - free screening of “A Class Apart,” the documentary about the Hernandez vs. Texas case. From 5pm to 6pm - Mexican American Think Tank: Action panel across disciplines and backgrounds. As well as a “Arizona banned books” book drive for the Under Ground Library at Raul Yzaguirre School for Success.
You can RSVP for the event at 713-923-7575. For more information call (713) 867-8943 or email AztecMuse@aol.com. To learn more about the Librotraficante movement you can visit their website here.
