Hector godinez biography pdf

Hector G. Godinez July 1, — May 16, was a civil rights leader and the first Mexican-American postmaster in the United States. Kennedy as postmaster of Santa Ana in After being wounded, Godinez was honorably discharged and returned home in as a decorated war hero with five battle stars , one Purple Heart , and one Bronze Star for heroic achievement at the Battle of the Bulge.

Postal Service, starting as a letter carrier and working his way up to a top leadership position.

At one time, Godinez commanded 50, employees as a regional boss for the postal service.

Godinez was a founder of the League of Latin American Citizens , a group dedicated to improving conditions for Americans of Mexican descent. Godinez was a key figure in ending discrimination against Mexican American children in Orange County schools. Westminster —a landmark lawsuit that took on the establishment in Orange County so that schools would not be segregated.

Because of this lawsuit, California desegregated its schools 6 years before the rest of the Nation. On the national level, Mendez v.

Hector G. Godinez, the boy from the barrio who broke barriers to become Orange County’s first Latino postmaster, died Sunday at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange after a four Missing: pdf.

Westminster was the basis for Brown v. Board of Education. In , Loretta Sanchez introduced H. The bill was enacted in The son of field workers, Godinez was born in on the grounds of San Diego Mission. His family moved to Santa Ana in , where Godinez lived for the rest of his life. Godinez was known for his collection of 50 pairs of cowboy boots and his love of Stetson hats.