Hector G. Godinez (July 1, 1924 – May 16, 1999) was a civil rights leader and the first Mexican-American postmaster in the United States.

Godinez was a key figure in ending discrimination against Mexican American children in Orange County schools.

[2] Specifically, Godinez and other activists were responsible for Mendez v. Westminster—a landmark lawsuit that took on the establishment in Orange County so that schools would not be segregated.

[5] The son of field workers, Godinez was born in 1924 on the grounds of San Diego Mission.

[2] Godinez died at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease.