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Ezequiel David Salinas, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the 111th State District Court in Laredo, Texas | |
| In office 1951–1974 | |
| President of the League of United Latin American Citizens | |
| In office 1939–1940 | |
| Preceded by | Filemon T. Martinez |
| Succeeded by | Antonio M. Fernandez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 20, 1908 Laredo, Webb County Texas, USA |
| Died | March 13, 2007 (aged 98) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Elvira Salinas (died 1982) (2) Angelina Casso de Salinas |
| Children | Elvira Luisa Salinas (deceased) E.D. Salinas, II (deceased) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | U.S. Foreign Service in Montevideo, Uruguay |
Ezequiel David Salinas, Sr. (March 20, 1908 - March 13, 2007), was a Mexican American Democratic state court judge from Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas, known for his advocacy of civil rights for the Hispanic community. In the late 1940s, Salinas was defeated in a race for the Texas House of Representatives but was elected to the 111th District Court in 1950. He served in that position until 1974.
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with its rival, the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and, typically, in an open court. The judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling on the matter at hand based on his or her interpretation of the law and his or her own personal judgment. In some jurisdictions, the judge's powers may be shared with a jury. In inquisitorial systems of criminal investigation, a judge might also be an examining magistrate.
Laredo is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a village to the capital of the brief Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the Mexico–United States border. Laredo's economy is based on international trade with Mexico. Many major transportation companies have a facility in Laredo. The city is on the southern end of I-35 which makes it close to the manufacturers in northern Mexico. It has four international bridges and one railway bridge.
Salinas was born to Ezequiel Salinas (1883–1976) and the former Luisa Gonzalez (1888–1972) of Laredo. He attended public schools and graduated from the former Laredo High School, thereafter Martin High School before he headed for the University of Texas to study law. He was awarded an E.D. Farmer International Scholarship in international law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City.
Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, known as Martin High School, is a secondary school in the Laredo independent school District in Laredo, Texas, United States. Grades 9–12 are taught there. It serves students living in central Laredo. The school is adjacent to the Laredo Civic Center.
International law, also known as public international law and law of nations, is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally accepted in relations between nations. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for states to follow across a broad range of domains, including war, diplomacy, trade, and human rights. International law thus provides a mean for states to practice more stable, consistent, and organized international relations.
The National Autonomous University of Mexico is a public research university in Mexico. It ranks highly in world rankings based on the university's extensive research and innovation. UNAM's campus is a UNESCO World Heritage site that was designed by some of Mexico's best-known architects of the 20th century. Murals in the main campus were painted by some of the most recognized artists in Mexican history, such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. In 2016, it had an acceptance rate of only 8%. UNAM generates a number of strong research publications and patents in diverse areas, such as robotics, computer science, mathematics, physics, human-computer interaction, history, philosophy, among others. All Mexican Nobel laureates are either alumni or faculty of UNAM.
He wrote numerous articles on civil rights during the early years of his law practice. In 1939, Salinas became the eleventh president, and the first Laredoan, of the national interest group, the League of United Latin American Citizens. In 1955, another prominent Laredoan, Oscar M. Laurel, assumed the LULAC presidency for a single one-year term. During the 1940s and 1950s, Salinas worked to establish LULAC chapters in parts of Texas where none had previously existed. He was instrumental in persuading contemporaries in Austin to rid Texas of the poll tax, which was finally ended nationally through the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution coupled with the Harper v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1966.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the oldest surviving Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. It was established on February 17, 1929, in Corpus Christi, Texas, largely by Hispanic veterans of World War I who sought to end ethnic discrimination against Latinos in the United States. LULAC was a consolidation of smaller, like-minded civil rights groups nbs
already in existence. With a goal of achieving assimilation, the organization initially admitted only United States citizens as members. The organization has a national headquarters, active councils in many states, and a professional staff.
Oscar Manuel Laurel, Sr., was an attorney, businessman, and Hispanic Democratic politician from Laredo, Texas, whose legendary public speaking excited his party's faithful. "He had a great talent for words," said Hector Garcia, a former Laurel business partner. Vidal M. Treviño, late superintendent of the Laredo independent school District, called Laurel "the best orator we have ever had." Laurel was one of five Laredoans to have served as president of the Hispanic interest group, the League of United Latin American Citizens, having been president of the organization for 1955–1956.
From 1935 to 1942, Salinas was an assistant district attorney in Webb County. He was also the attorney for the Laredo Housing Authority. In the latter capacity, Salinas worked to establish the first affordable housing complex in Laredo located at the intersection of Park Street and Interstate 35.
In the United States, a district attorney (DA) is the chief prosecutor for a local government area, typically a county. The exact name of the office varies by state.
Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north-south route stretching from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican-American border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. The highway splits into Interstate 35E and Interstate 35W in two separate places, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas and at the Minnesota twin cities of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
Odie Arambula, of the Laredo Morning Times , refers to a 1937 newspaper article in the then Laredo Times which described Salinas as "one of the brightest young men in Laredo fitted for the great future that appears in store for him."
The Laredo Morning Times is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation.
At the outbreak of World War II, Salinas joined the U.S. Foreign Service and was a special assistant to the ambassador in Montevideo, Uruguay.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment. The word is also often used more liberally for persons who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions, activities and fields of endeavor such as sales.
Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 in an area of 201 square kilometres (78 sq mi). The southernmost capital city in the Americas, Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata.
Salinas' former 111th court shared concurrent jurisdiction with the original 49th District Court. Salinas was assigned mostly civil cases and doubled as the juvenile court.
Salinas challenged Webb County government during a dispute in the 1960s in which he charged that the county commissioners were not adhering to state law in certain operations, as recommended by the county auditor, who was an appointee of the district court. He and the judge of the 49th District Court embroiled in a dispute with the county judge and commissioners in proceedings that news accounts called the "Battle of the Judges". In one instance, Arambula recalled that Judge Salinas summoned more than fifty business and civic leaders to hear testimony in a court of inquiry into operations of the Webb County road and bridge department. Salinas also presided over an investigation into management of a juvenile detention facility which was operated as part of the county jail.
Salinas was preceded in death by his first wife, Elvira Salinas (1909–1982); a daughter, Elvira Luisa Salinas, and a son, Dr. E. D. Salinas, Jr. (1938–1992). Survivors included his second wife, Angelina Casso de Salinas (born ca. 1913); his son and daughter-in-law, Edward R. Salinas and Cira R Salinas, and granddaughter, Cira E. Salinas. Other surviving grandchildren are Dr. Ezequiel D Salinas, III, Christina Salinas Castillon, and Dr. Adriana Salinas Gonzalez.
| Preceded by Filemon T. Martinez of Albuquerque, New Mexico | President of the League of United Latin American Citizens Ezequiel David Salinas, Sr., of Laredo, Texas | Succeeded by Antonio M. Fernandez of Santa Fe, New Mexico |
