In this video segment, sylvia mendez recalls the conditions that triggered the lawsuit and her parents involvement in the case. School desegregation and mexicanamerican rights, the children were seen as visibly. Westminster plays an underappreciated role in the struggle for civil rights in the united states. Westminster is an important case in american civil rights. This is because it set the precedence for other similar discrimination cases. For all the children an american civil rights victory. Westminster case was the first federal court decision and the first application of the fourteenth amendment to overturn segregation based on the separate but equal doctrine. Sylvia mendez born june 7, 1936 is an american civil rights activist of mexicanpuerto rican heritage. Strum brings the people and debates of the case vividly to life, particularly the dedication of the latino parents at the center of the case who fought for equal education for their children in public schools. On august 18, 2010, author philippa strum gave a talk about her book, mendez v.
She spoke about the history of conditions for mexican americans in the colonias and the citrus belt in orange county. Sep 23, 2010 on august 18, 2010, author philippa strum gave a talk about her book, mendez v. The mendez case also received support by amicus curiae briefs from the aclu, the american jewish congress, the california state attorney. The following taken from teaching tolerance offers some background on the case. If you are a retail, wholesale, or library account interested in ordering our titles, you may be. Westminster school district, the california court case that desegregated schools for latino children and set the stage for brown vs. Mexican families who ended segregation in california schools. Westminster, which desegregated california schools years before the supreme courts landmark.
Board desegregation court case involving mexicanamerican families. Mendez, his mother, and her other four children moved to westminster, california, in 1919. Civil right activists of mendez family continues legacy fighting for quality education by. Sylvia mendez, who received the presidential medal of freedom at a 2011 white house ceremony, was a child when she was turned away from a california public school for whites only. Westminster, in custodia legisthe official blog of the.
Study 12 terms political science flashcards quizlet. Mendez knew that segregation would relegate his children to a different place in life, she says. Public facilities such as schools separated the whites from other racial groups. This website is dedicated to telling the story, along with providing documentation for students and historians, of the mendez et al v westminster et al court case. Michael matsuda and sandra robbie are the coauthors of the childrens book mendez vs.
Sylvia remembers that before felicitas passed away, she regretted the fact that so few people knew about the. At that time, there were a few newspaper articles and a couple of journal articles, but most of the research had to be done old school, by going to the santa ana public library and digging often on microfilm through newspaper articles and court documents. Mexicanamericans, sylvia mendez, segregation in education, racial persecution, mendez vs. Westminster, one that weaves together historic figures like. Silvia mendez and her brothers went with their aunt soledad vidaurri and her two children to enroll at 17th street school in westminster. Westminster, the first case about school segregation to be successfully challenged in federal court. Strum brings the people and debates of the case vividly to life, particularly the dedication of the latino parents at the center of the case who fought for equal education for their children in. Postal service released a stamp in 2007 to commemorate the landmark case. Mendez says that her parents were disappointed no one told them gracias for fighting the good fight. This discount is automatically applied during checkout. For all the children an american civil rights victory, the story of school. Brown vs the board of education of topeka was a triumph for school integration, and although integration battles had been won at the state level, californias case mendez vs westminster, would be an example of such, the impact of the brown case provided a national hope that would enable groups, which had been historically separated, to share. This book reveals the remarkable, neverbeforetold story based on true events of mendez vs.
Board of education is a widely known landmark supreme court case, few can trace its origins to the case of nineyearold sylvia mendez in. Westminster was funded in part by a grants from the california civil liberties public education program and the wells fargo foundation. Marshall used some of the same arguments from mendez to win brown v. Seventy years later, mendez, 79, is a fierce advocate of her parents legacy, traveling the country to tell the story of mendez vs. Fifteen years later in 1946, a court reached the same result in mendez v. Apr 17, 2016 sylvia mendez at her home in fullerton. Westminster has gone largely unrecognized in history instruction. The mexican americans in orange county, california won a class action lawsuit to the segregated school system that existed there. Adminstrator explained to soledad that her two children could register at the white elementary school since they were half white, light skinned and french last names. Westminster, despite its precedentsetting decision, largely lost to legal history. Westminster case, the landmark desegregation case of 1946.
Elementary school students in orange county california, as well as many other parts of the country, were forced to attend segregated schools. One of lulacs most notable initiatives was the preschool program known as the little school of the 400, which was designed to teach children 400 basic english words. Pompa insisted, it has been 64 years since the mendez ruling, and if it takes us another 64 years to get to where we need to be, we are all in a lot of trouble. While not as well known as brown, it was an important case and many have said it laid a great deal of the groundwork for brown. Board of education, mexican americans in orange county, california won a class action lawsuit to dismantle the segregated school system that existed there. Westminster school desegregation and mexicanamerican rights 1st edition 9780700617197 and save up to 80% on textbook rentals and 90% on used textbooks. A living history 405 geared to strip the children of their culture and language and to americanize them. So, that is the context in which the segregation happened. The ninth circuit court of appeals reached this historic decision in the case of mendez v. Teaching school desegregation through the story of sylvia. Westminster 1947 case is important not only for the precedent it set for later court cases, such as brown v. Philippa strum is a resident senior scholar with the woodrow wilson international center for scholars and author of women in the barracks.
Westminster case was about the refusal of mexicanamerican children into certain schools, marcus argued on the issue of the children and how having to attend different schools wold hurt their education and knowledge of the english language. I started teaching my students about the mendez v westminster case in 2001. Westminster was clearly another plank in the argument that the naacp would take to the supreme court. Westminster sylvias case, which was decided in the federal courts in california, preceded brown by about eight years. This presidents day, rather than mythologize past presidents as kinder and gentler than trump, lets remind students that this country has been at its best when people have organized to question and challenge presidents opposing presidential support for. At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the mendez v. Board of education, but also because it is a clear example of members of the mexican american community taking the lead to fight for their rights and winning. Mendezs father, gonzalo, was at the center of mendez vs. In 1946, eight years before the landmark supreme court decision in brown v.
For one thing, the case never made it to the supreme court, so its impact was only felt in. Westminster case was a landmark in the history of education in california. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. Westminster school district 1947 was actually the first case in which segregation in education was successfully challenged in federal court. Sandra robbie, producer of the emmywinning documentary, mendez vs. I think the final finding of the appeals court sidestepped plesy by stating that segregation by race was not at issue because the mendez plantiffs were not nonwhite.
Westminster, from the first day the mendez children were denied entrance to school to the familys decision to challenge the schools position. Toolkit for why mendez still matters teaching tolerance. Sylvia mendez was 9 when her father became a plaintiff in a lawsuit that forced the westminster school district, in orange county, calif. Thurgood marshall represented sylvia mendez and linda brown. Westminster, becoming the first federal court to order the desegregation of schools. Sylvia mendez advocate for education of mendez vs westminster. Westminster 1946, which ended the segregation of mexican americans in california schools. Finally giving mendezits due, philippa strum provides a concise and compelling account of its legal issues and legacy, while retaining its essential human face. The mendez case was important in the history of the united.
Because sylvia mendez was rejected from all whites school. Once this case was won, it opened the door for desegregation of other schools throughout the country, and paved the way for the landmark case brown v. Finally giving mendez its due, philippa strum provides a concise and. Historic in its own right, mendez was critical to the strategic choices and legal analysis used in arguing brown and in shaping the ideas of a young naacp attorney, thurgood marshall. Jun 24, 2014 segregation was a big problem back then. The movement for integration began slowly, reaching a peak in the 1940s and 1950s. Earlier in the semester we highlighted a series of early education lesson plans that focused on teaching about diversity, race, difference and acceptance. School desegregation and mexicanamerican rights, at busboys and poets.
Mendez v westminster california civil rights story. The mendez family fought school segregation 8 years before. In 1943, at age 30, he became a naturalized citizen of the united states and was a relatively welloff vegetable farmer. Board for decades, a resurgence of public recognition of the case in the early 21st century rightly called attention to its significance. This case set the precedent for all other cases concerning segregation. I believe that mendez vs westminster was one of several cases including the sweatt case which contributed to the brown vs topeka success. It took two years of battling it out in the courts, but the families eventually won their case.
Case history the year was 1945, and the united states was a much different place back then. Their efforts eventually became the classaction lawsuit. Saxon community, in general, was to keep these people in a secondclass position, explains philippa strum, author of a book on the movement against segregation between mexicans and americans in california. Board of education is a widely known landmark supreme court case, few can trace its origins to the case of nineyearold sylvia mendez in mendez v. Mar 25, 2010 the ninth circuit court of appeals reached this historic decision in the case of mendez v. Westminster during his undergraduate, graduate, and legal tenures, thomas saenz said he was already familiar with the case before reading strums book. I have taught, read, and written about american history for decades, but it took a picture book to introduce me to the mendez family and their fight for school integration. Picture books are powerful teaching tools, not just for elementary kids but for older readers as well. Now, 8yearolds can read about mendez in a new childrens book by local authors, mendez vs. In 1943, gonzalo mendez sued the westminster school district of orange county. Board of education remains much more famous, mendez v.
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