In 1961, Reynaldo G. Garza, of Brownsville, Texas, became the first Mexican American federal judge in U.S. history. A Kennedy nominee, Garza had risen from the obscurity of his humble South Texas beginnings to become a major player in Democratic politics. The careers of fellow Texans and political giants Lyndon B. Johnson and Lloyd Bentsen would become linked with his own. As an emerging power broker in the predominantly Anglo establishment, Garza personified the new elite in the Mexican American community and in the Democratic Party. Garza's long and storied tenure as a federal judge was...
In 1961, Reynaldo G. Garza, of Brownsville, Texas, became the first Mexican American federal judge in U.S. history. A Kennedy nominee, Garza had risen...
