After a life fighting for Mexican-American communities, veterans, and human rights, Victor Garza died this morning in San Jose, leaving behind a national legacy of advocacy in his wake.
From left, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Police Chief Rob Davis, and La Raza Roundtable leader Victor Garza address the issue of Latinos and public drunkeness in downtown San Jose at La Raza Roundtable in San Jose on October 30, 2008. After a life fighting for Mexican-American communities, veterans, and human rights, Victor Garza died this morning in San Jose, leaving behind a national legacy of advocacy in his wake.
Garza was born on July 4, 1937 to a family of migrant farmworkers in Eagle Pass, Texas. He worked as a migrant farmworker in his teens and joined the Navy at 18, where he worked as a welder. As manager for the County of Santa Clara Veterans Services in San Jose, he won several awards for his advocacy for veterans. Garza was perhaps most vocal in his advocacy for Latinos and Mexican-Americans throughout his life, founding the La Raza Roundtable, which has brought together community leaders and policy makers with members of the Latino community since its beginnings in 1988.
“He knows how to bark at you but also work with you – that’s not very common anymore,” said Bob Nuñez, co-chair of the roundtable. He recalled that Garza spoke with state senators, police chiefs, parents and community members with the same patient respect and always sought to find a way to take action to make things better.
Garza attended every meeting of La Raza Roundtable until his declining health prevented him from doing so. He attended the last two months virtually, said Nuñez, and offered suggestions for the group even in the final weeks before his death.Dear Abby: I blew off the teacher's concerns, and now I feel so guilty about my sonThey had a ‘fling’ in Vegas and he promised to help her get a job at Tesla.
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