Felix Longoria's Wake: Bereavement, Racism, and the Rise of Mexican American Activism (Center for Mexican American Studies) [Paperback]

Patrick Carroll (Author), José E. Limón (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0292712499 | ISBN-13: 978-0292712492 | Publication Date: April 1, 2003 | Edition: 1

Private First Class Felix Longoria earned a Bronze Service Star, a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct Medal, and a Combat Infantryman's badge for service in the Philippines during World War II. Yet the only funeral parlor in his hometown of Three Rivers, Texas, refused to hold a wake for the slain soldier because "the whites would not like it." Almost overnight, this act of discrimination became a defining moment in the rise of Mexican American activism. It launched Dr. Héctor P. García and his newly formed American G.I. Forum into the vanguard of the Mexican civil rights movement, while simultaneously endangering and advancing the career of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who arranged for Longoria's burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. In this book, Patrick Carroll provides the first fully researched account of the Longoria controversy and its far-reaching consequences. Drawing on extensive documentary evidence and interviews with many key figures, including Dr. García and Mrs. Longoria, Carroll convincingly explains why the Longoria incident, though less severe than other acts of discrimination against Mexican Americans, ignited the activism of a whole range of interest groups from Argentina to Minneapolis. By putting Longoria's wake in a national and international context, he also clarifies why it became such a flash point for conflicting understandings of bereavement, nationalism, reason, and emotion between two powerful cultures--Mexicanidad and Americanism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carroll provides abundant evidence of the importance of the Longoria incident for Mexican Americans, for a rising Lyndon Johnson, for Texas politics, and, indirectly, for U.S. society. His insights ... have the potential of appealing to both historians and general readers, particularly those interested in Mexican American and/or Texas history." Julie Leininger Pycior, author of Lyndon Johnson and Mexican Americans: The Paradox of Power

Review

Carroll provides abundant evidence of the importance of the Longoria incident for Mexican Americans, for a rising Lyndon Johnson, for Texas politics, and, indirectly, for U.S. society. His insights . . . have the potential of appealing to both historians and general readers, particularly those interested in Mexican American and/or Texas history. (Julie Leininger Pycior, author of Lyndon Johnson and Mexican Americans: The Paradox of Power )

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292712499
• ISBN-13: 978-0292712492
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, June 6, 2010

By 

Terra Caldwell (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Felix Longoria's Wake: Bereavement, Racism, and the Rise of Mexican American Activism (Center for Mexican American Studies) (Paperback)

I read this book for a Mexican-American history class. The book is about what happened to the remains of PFC Felix Longoria, an American citizen, who earned four medals for his service before dying during WWII. When he died, his body was shipped back to his hometown in Texas, but the only funeral parlor there refused to hold services for him because "the whites would not like it." This book introduces Dr. Héctor García as a character who should be studied in high school as an American civil rights leader, discusses LBJ's earlier career as a civil rights leader, and describes the lengths to which the Longoria family had to go in order to have Felix Longoria properly buried - at Arlington National Cemetery. By the time of his burial the Longoria debate had gone nation-wide and had lasting consequences.

This book is engaging, well-written, and opens up a whole new world of civil rights history. I highly recommend it as an excellent starting place for Mexican-American or Chicano/a history.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars academic jargon bs, June 26, 2010

By 

Drew Youngblood (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Felix Longoria's Wake: Bereavement, Racism, and the Rise of Mexican American Activism (Center for Mexican American Studies) (Paperback)

This is one of those books where academics engage in theoretical discussions, rather than actually telling the story of what happened with Felix Longoria. This is a real shame, because the story is very interesting. The author uses lots of jargon, but makes little sense. If like authors who talk about "the accommodative, culturally pluralistic model of integrative ideology that emerged out of the hybrid structuralist and antistructuralist process" then this is a book for you.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Part of book missing, November 29, 2009

By 

Kati Ann - See all my reviews

This review is from: Felix Longoria's Wake: Bereavement, Racism, and the Rise of Mexican American Activism (Center for Mexican American Studies) (Paperback)

I purchased this book for a Texas History class, but the last part of the book is missing. It went from page 172 back to page 144 and completely skipped the last chapter. It was probably just an error in my copy though.