inner most top quality Felix Longoria earned a Bronze carrier celebrity, a pink center, a great behavior Medal, and a wrestle Infantryman's badge for carrier within the Philippines in the course of global battle II. but the one funeral parlor in his place of birth of 3 Rivers, Texas, refused to carry a wake for the slain soldier simply because "the whites wouldn't like it." virtually in a single day, this act of discrimination turned a defining second within the upward thrust of Mexican American activism. It introduced Dr. Héctor P. García and his newly shaped American G.I. discussion board into the leading edge of the Mexican civil rights circulate, whereas concurrently endangering and advancing the profession of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who prepared for Longoria's burial with complete army honors in Arlington nationwide Cemetery.In this e-book, Patrick Carroll presents the 1st totally researched account of the Longoria controversy and its far-reaching effects. Drawing on wide documentary facts and interviews with many key figures, together with Dr. García and Mrs. Longoria, Carroll convincingly explains why the Longoria incident, although much less serious than different acts of discrimination opposed to Mexican americans, ignited the activism of an entire diversity of curiosity teams from Argentina to Minneapolis. by way of placing Longoria's wake in a countrywide and foreign context, he additionally clarifies why it turned one of these flash aspect for conflicting understandings of bereavement, nationalism, cause, and emotion among strong cultures—Mexicanidad and Americanism.