Affidavit sworn by Macario García to Alonso S. Perales
Item
Dublin Core
Title
Affidavit sworn by Macario García to Alonso S. Perales
Subject
AFFIDAVITS
ASSAULT and Battery
VETERAN
RACE discrimination - public establishments
RACE discrimination - restaurants
CRIME and Race
ETHNIC discrimination
MILITARY Personnel
Description
Macario Garcia, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, was refused service at the Oasis Cafe in Richmond, Texas. After Garcia dropped a sugar bowl in frustration, a fight broke out in the Cafe.
Creator
Garcia, Macario
Source
Perales, Alonso S. Are We Good Neighbors? 1948. EBSCO Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2
Date
1946-10-05
Contributor
Perales, Alonso S.
Relation
Gauthereau, Lorena. "Are We Good Neighbors?: Mapping Discrimination Against Mexican Americans in 1940s Texas." https://arcg.is/1C1bbv.
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
pera0088
Coverage
RICHMOND (Tex.)
Scripto
Transcription
THE STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF BEXAR
BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority in and for said County, State of Texas, this day personally came and appeared MACARIO GARCIA, to me well known, and who, after being by me duly sworn, did depose and say:
My name is Macario Garcia. I am 26 years of age, single, and I reside at 1908 Franklin Avenue, in Houston, Texas.
I served in the United States Army two years, ten months, and twenty eight days, eleven months and six days of which I served overseas. On August 23, 1945 President Harry S. Truman bestowed upon me the Congressional Medal of Honor.
On October 10, 1945, about 11:15 P.M., I went into the Oasis Cafe in Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas, and I sat at the counter and ordered a cup of coffee. One of the waitresses asked me what I wanted and I told her that I wanted a cup of coffee. She then said to me: "I cannot serve you", and she walked away. I remained sitting at the counter. In about a minute she returned to where I was and I asked her why she could not serve me, and she replied that because Mexicans were not served at that place. She walked away again. Then her husband, came to me and asked me what seemed to be the trouble. I replied: "Nothing that I know of. I asked the lady why she could not serve me a cup of coffee". He then said to me: "Well, she told you why, so there is the door", and he pointed to the door, meaning for me to get out. I stood up. There was a sugar bowl on the counter and what he had told me made me so angry that I pushed the sugar bowl off the counter. It fell behind the counter. Then he came from behind the counter to where I was and started to seize me by the left arm to put me out. I shoved him off with my left hand and told him not to touch me, and to stay away from me, that I was telling him that for his own benefit. When he tried to get closer to me I picked up an empty water glass and threw it at him, hitting him on the chest. The glass fell and broke. Then he said: "You think you are smart, eh? I'll fix you up", and he went behind the counter. When he was standing behind the counter I threw another empty water glass. He ducked and the glass went and broke a glass of wine. The reason I threw the second glass at him was that I thought he was going to get something to hit me with. A customer who was there then came behind and made a pass at me with a baseball bat. I dodged the blow and he struck the wall. I asked him if he too wanted to fight me and he did not say anything, but he turned the bat lose and it fell to the floor. There were two sailors in the place and they came and stood between me and the cafe manager. I forgot to say that before the two sailors interceded, the Cafe Manager had thrown an empty water glass at me. I dodged it and it went and broke a window glass.
When the sailors got between us we stopped throwing things at each other. That is all there was to it. I walked out of the place and left. No woman present was thrown anything at or struck by anybody. Of this I am sure. Charges of aggravated assault have been filed against me at Richmond, Texas, alleging that I struck a woman in the place, but said charges are unfounded, as I did nothing of the kind.
I was wearing the uniform of the United States Army at the time.
I was born in Villa de Castaño, Coahuila, Mexico, and I was a citizen of Mexico when I joined the United States Army.
Further affiant sayeth not.
[signed] Macario Garcia.
Sworn and subscribed to before me this 5th day of October, A.D. 1946.
[signed] Alonso S. Perales
Notary Public, Bexar County, Texas
COUNTY OF BEXAR
BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority in and for said County, State of Texas, this day personally came and appeared MACARIO GARCIA, to me well known, and who, after being by me duly sworn, did depose and say:
My name is Macario Garcia. I am 26 years of age, single, and I reside at 1908 Franklin Avenue, in Houston, Texas.
I served in the United States Army two years, ten months, and twenty eight days, eleven months and six days of which I served overseas. On August 23, 1945 President Harry S. Truman bestowed upon me the Congressional Medal of Honor.
On October 10, 1945, about 11:15 P.M., I went into the Oasis Cafe in Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas, and I sat at the counter and ordered a cup of coffee. One of the waitresses asked me what I wanted and I told her that I wanted a cup of coffee. She then said to me: "I cannot serve you", and she walked away. I remained sitting at the counter. In about a minute she returned to where I was and I asked her why she could not serve me, and she replied that because Mexicans were not served at that place. She walked away again. Then her husband, came to me and asked me what seemed to be the trouble. I replied: "Nothing that I know of. I asked the lady why she could not serve me a cup of coffee". He then said to me: "Well, she told you why, so there is the door", and he pointed to the door, meaning for me to get out. I stood up. There was a sugar bowl on the counter and what he had told me made me so angry that I pushed the sugar bowl off the counter. It fell behind the counter. Then he came from behind the counter to where I was and started to seize me by the left arm to put me out. I shoved him off with my left hand and told him not to touch me, and to stay away from me, that I was telling him that for his own benefit. When he tried to get closer to me I picked up an empty water glass and threw it at him, hitting him on the chest. The glass fell and broke. Then he said: "You think you are smart, eh? I'll fix you up", and he went behind the counter. When he was standing behind the counter I threw another empty water glass. He ducked and the glass went and broke a glass of wine. The reason I threw the second glass at him was that I thought he was going to get something to hit me with. A customer who was there then came behind and made a pass at me with a baseball bat. I dodged the blow and he struck the wall. I asked him if he too wanted to fight me and he did not say anything, but he turned the bat lose and it fell to the floor. There were two sailors in the place and they came and stood between me and the cafe manager. I forgot to say that before the two sailors interceded, the Cafe Manager had thrown an empty water glass at me. I dodged it and it went and broke a window glass.
When the sailors got between us we stopped throwing things at each other. That is all there was to it. I walked out of the place and left. No woman present was thrown anything at or struck by anybody. Of this I am sure. Charges of aggravated assault have been filed against me at Richmond, Texas, alleging that I struck a woman in the place, but said charges are unfounded, as I did nothing of the kind.
I was wearing the uniform of the United States Army at the time.
I was born in Villa de Castaño, Coahuila, Mexico, and I was a citizen of Mexico when I joined the United States Army.
Further affiant sayeth not.
[signed] Macario Garcia.
Sworn and subscribed to before me this 5th day of October, A.D. 1946.
[signed] Alonso S. Perales
Notary Public, Bexar County, Texas
Text Item Type Metadata
Original Format
paper
Collection
Citation
Garcia, Macario, “Affidavit sworn by Macario García to Alonso S. Perales,” Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections, accessed April 27, 2024, http://usldhrecovery.uh.edu/items/show/16.