In honor of First-Generation Week, a nationwide celebration recognizing the success and struggles of first-generation college students, faculty and staff, Laredo College will screen “Remembering Gus García,” a film on the life of native Laredoan Gus García – the attorney, civil rights activist, and courtroom legend who in 1954 argued Hernández v. Texas before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the exclusion of eligible jurors due to their ancestry of national origin violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
While the resolution of the case provided civil rights protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the impact of García’s drive and legal acumen, paved the way for social changes for Latinos, among them, the end of school segregation in Texas against Mexican Americans.
After moving from Laredo to San Antonio, García attended Catholic and public schools and graduated valedictorian from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1932. He received an academic scholarship to the University of Texas, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1936 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1938.
García’s pioneering legacy is the focus of a campaign to fund a life-sized bronze statue in honor of the man who undertook groundbreaking, life-changing legal battles in the 1940s and 1950s – well before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
The campaign seeks to raise $150,000 to commission the statue, which will be installed where García passed away, at the Mercado in downtown San Antonio.
The campaign’s goal is to ensure that future generations remember and honor García’s contributions to the struggle for civil rights and justice for Mexican Americans, Chicanos, Latinos, Hispanics, and all people who faced discrimination and inequality.
“We owe it to him and to ourselves to remember his legacy and to inspire future generations to continue the struggle for justice. We are excited to share this documentary with the students and attendees at Laredo College and to start the conversation about why we need to honor Gus García’s legacy with a permanent tribute,” said producer Gutiérrez.
The screening of the 45-minute film, which was co-produced by Efrain Gutierrez and Placido Salazar, will take place at the LC Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center on Thursday at 6 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
The Laredo screening is sponsored by the LC Office of Student Life.
