Hector Godinez, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetHector Godinez
civil rights leader and the first Mexican-American postmaster in the United States
Date of Birth: 01-Jul-1924
Place of Birth: San Diego, California, United States
Date of Death: 16-May-1999
Profession: military personnel
Zodiac Sign: Cancer 
About Hector Godinez
- Hector G.
- Godinez (July 1, 1924 – May 16, 1999) was a civil rights leader and the first Mexican-American postmaster in the United States.
- He was appointed by President John F.
- Kennedy as postmaster of Santa Ana in 1961.
- He was subsequently promoted to Southern California district manager for the U.S.
- Postal Service, where he managed more than 44,000 employees and had an operating budget of $750 million.During World War II, Godinez served under General George Patton in the United States Army as a Tank Commander in the Third Army.
- After being wounded, Godinez was honorably discharged and returned home in 1945 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.
- In 1946, Godinez began his 48-year career with the U.S.
- Postal Service, starting as a letter carrier and working his way up to a top leadership position.Mr.
- 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.
- Specifically, Godinez and other activists were responsible for Mendez v.
- 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.
- Westminster was the basis for Brown v.
- Board of Education.
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