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. Provided by Wikipedia