Dr. Xico P. Garcia Collection Regarding Dr. Hector P. Garcia and Mexican American Civil Rights
Dr. Xico P. Garcia was a brother of Dr. Hector P. Garcia. His Papers include information on the farm workers marching to Austin, Texas in the 1960s, the American GI Forum, other Latino issues, and the funeral of Dr. Hector Garcia. The materials date from 1946 to 1996 and include photographs, correspondence, news clippings, publications, cassette, and VHS tapes.
The Dr. Xico P. Garcia Collection Regarding Dr. Hector P. Garcia are composed primarily of newspaper clippings. Also included are publications, magazines, biography, and photographs that Dr. Garcia collected of Dr. H. P. Garcia between 1946 - 1996. The collection includes VHS tapes that pertain to Hispanics living in the colonias in South Texas.
There are cassette tapes of Dr. Garcia celebrating the birthday of his wife, Velia Yolanda De Leon Garcia and his sister Dr. Dalia Garcia. The documents were collected between 1946 to 1997.
Dates
- 1946-1996
Conditions Governing Access
Collection open for research
Conditions Governing Use
This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to taking precautions against infringement of copyright and respecting the publication rights of reproduced materials. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Any materials used should be fully credited with their source according to the example given in the Preferred Citation note. Requests for assistance with citations and images of publication quality should be directed to specialcollections@tamucc.ed.
Extent
1.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
Dr. Xico P. Garcia was a physician and civil rights activist. He was the brother of Dr. Hector P. Garcia and Dr. Clotilde Garcia. The collection include correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, photographs, VHS, and cassette tapes.
Biographical / Historical
Dr. Garcia earned a degree in pharmacy from the University of Houston in 1953. He then earned a medical degree from the Universidad Nacional Autonomy de Mexico, in 1969.
Following in his brother and sister’s footsteps, Dr. Xico Garcia fought against poverty and discrimination. In a video recording of him dated July 26, 1997, Dr. Garcia was making a doctor visit at the colonia, Tierra Grande, wearing his white coat, stethoscope, and American GI Forum (AGIF) cap. He described the South Texas colonia as the “poorest of the poor.” Residents of the colonias are usually poor Mexican Americans or Mexicans who live outside the city limits where proper infrastructure is nonexistent. There is no clean running water, proper sanitation, electricity, and street drainage. This results in residents having many types of illnesses due to poor hygiene and exposure to herbicides. Infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, meningitis, cholera, as well as skin diseases were present in the colonia.
Dr. Garcia provided the residents with free medical attention which included ultrasounds, x-rays, and immunization shots. He alerted the state government about the colonia issues, however; it was referred to the local county level. By uncovering the colonia’s health issues, Dr. Garcia exposed the continued lack of Environmental Justice that has been placed on the colonias for decades.
Dr. Garcia was also a volunteer ring-side physician at boxing matches. He would tell the young people that boxing was not the only thing, and education was important.
While Dr. Garcia was proud of being a physician, he was also proud of serving as the Commander of the American GI Forum - Dr. Hector P. Garcia Founder’s Chapter, from 1998 until his death April 28, 2003.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into four series. The first series consists of materials pertaining to Dr. Xico P. Garcia’s civil rights activities. Included are VHS tapes and newspaper articles.
The second series concerns materials pertaining to Dr. H. P. Garcia civil rights activism. Included are correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, and photographs.
The third series concerns materials pertaining to American GI Forum. Included in the series are publications, correspondence, and newspaper articles.
The fourth series concerns materials pertaining to Mexican American civil rights. The series consist primarily of newspaper articles concerning veterans.
The collection does not include documents concerning Dr. Xico P. Garcia’s business as a self-employed physician.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Xico and Yolanda Garcia in person, February 18, 1997.
Processing Information
Nadine Vasquez Hefner organized the papers, created records, and finding aid October 2022.
Source
- Garcia, Xico P. (Person)
- Garcia, Yolanda (Person)
- Title
- Guide to Dr. Xico P. Garcia Collection Regarding Dr. Hector P. Garcia and Mexican American Civil Rights
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English; Spanish
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Repository
6300 Ocean Dr.
Unit 5702
Corpus Christi TX 78412 United States
361-825-4500
361-825-5973 (Fax)
specialcollections@tamucc.edu
