Affidavit sworn by Pedro H. Garza to Alonso S. Perales
Item
Dublin Core
Title
Affidavit sworn by Pedro H. Garza to Alonso S. Perales
Subject
AFFIDAVITS
THREATS of violence
RACE discrimination - public establishments
RACE discrimination - restaurants
VETERAN
MILITARY
DISCRIMINATION
Description
Affidavit sworn by Pedro H. Garza that he was yelled at and threatened in the Rose Cafe in Alpine, Texas.
Creator
Garza, Pedro H.
Source
Perales, Alonso S. Are We Good Neighbors? 1948. EBSCO Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2
Date
1951-05-24
Contributor
Perales, Alonso S.
Rights
Content compilation of The Latino/Hispanic American Experience Leaders, Writers and Thinkers copyright 2012 by Arte Publico Historical Collections. All rights reserved.
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
pera0086
Coverage
ALPINE (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 Pedro H. Garza, to me well known, and who, after being by me duly sworn, did depose and say:
My name is Pedro H. Garza. I reside at 220 Montana Street. I have worked for the T and N6. Railroad Co. for the past four years. I am 38 years of age.
I served in the U.S. Armed Forces three years and four months. I saw action in the Rhineland and Central Europe.
On Thursday Evening April 5th, 1951, I entered the Rose Cafe, in Alpine, Texas. I sat at the counter awaiting service and noticed the waiter, who was apparently of German descent, ignored my request for service. Finally, I called his attention to the fact that I needed to be served. He in turn became very irritated and his face became very red. He shouted to me and asked me to repeat what I had first said. I politely answered him, "Can I have some service?" At this point he became furious for some reason and proceeded to order me out of his place in a very rude manner and angrily pointed to the door. He kept shouting, "There is the door, there is the door." Before I could organize myself and get my bearings and bring myself to the realization that obviously he had a dislike for people of Mexican origin he ran to the back of the counter and got a big club and threatened to hit me if I did not get up and leave. As I attempted in vain to get a word in edgewise and apologize and explain that I did not mean to offend him or hurt his feeling as was only interested in buying a five cent cup of coffee, my effort proved useless. He reached a point of such excitement that he could hardly talk. He did not strike me however, Whereupon I picked up my hat and calmly left his place of business.
FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.
[signed] P.H. Garza
Pedro H. Garza
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 24th day of May A.D. 1951.
[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 Pedro H. Garza, to me well known, and who, after being by me duly sworn, did depose and say:
My name is Pedro H. Garza. I reside at 220 Montana Street. I have worked for the T and N6. Railroad Co. for the past four years. I am 38 years of age.
I served in the U.S. Armed Forces three years and four months. I saw action in the Rhineland and Central Europe.
On Thursday Evening April 5th, 1951, I entered the Rose Cafe, in Alpine, Texas. I sat at the counter awaiting service and noticed the waiter, who was apparently of German descent, ignored my request for service. Finally, I called his attention to the fact that I needed to be served. He in turn became very irritated and his face became very red. He shouted to me and asked me to repeat what I had first said. I politely answered him, "Can I have some service?" At this point he became furious for some reason and proceeded to order me out of his place in a very rude manner and angrily pointed to the door. He kept shouting, "There is the door, there is the door." Before I could organize myself and get my bearings and bring myself to the realization that obviously he had a dislike for people of Mexican origin he ran to the back of the counter and got a big club and threatened to hit me if I did not get up and leave. As I attempted in vain to get a word in edgewise and apologize and explain that I did not mean to offend him or hurt his feeling as was only interested in buying a five cent cup of coffee, my effort proved useless. He reached a point of such excitement that he could hardly talk. He did not strike me however, Whereupon I picked up my hat and calmly left his place of business.
FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.
[signed] P.H. Garza
Pedro H. Garza
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 24th day of May A.D. 1951.
[signed] Alonso S. Perales
Notary Public, Bexar County, Texas
Collection
Citation
Garza, Pedro H. , “Affidavit sworn by Pedro H. Garza to Alonso S. Perales,” Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections, accessed April 28, 2024, http://usldhrecovery.uh.edu/items/show/18.