The girl who opened schoolhouse doors for Latinos
This is published in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
In the 1920s, Mexican laborers moved to California to work in the citrus groves. At that time, it was not unusual to see signs in restaurant windows that said, “No dogs or Mexicans.” This sentiment influenced how public schools were run.
Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez had moved to Westminster, California, and sought to enroll their daughter Sylvia into the closest school. While no law mandated school segregation, the Mendezes were turned away and referred to a school for Hispanics.
Instead, they joined with other families and filed a lawsuit: Mendez v. Westminster School District.
Their attorney, David Marcus, argued that segregating children based on ethnicity was a violation of the 14th Amendment, the amendment that grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. The attorney argued this point for Hispanics, but also for Asian American and Native American students, who were segregated legally.
The judge ruled in the Mendezes favor, writing, “A paramount requisite in the American system of public education is social equality. It must be open to all children by unified school association regardless of lineage."
It wasn’t a simple end to the dispute, though.
The school district appealed, and for the second time, the Mendezes prevailed, but it was more of a semi-victory. The court ruled in favor of families, but not due to the 14th amendment, but because there was no law allowing segregation, meaning, there COULD be a law – just like the law segregating Asian American and Native American students.
In a bold move, California’s governor, Earl Warren, chose to end school segregation.
Seven years later, Earl Warren (does that name sound familiar?) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and ruled on Brown v. Board of Education.
And it all started with a girl who wanted a good education.
Resource for Children: Children's Books for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month - KidLit TV
Eight-year-old Sylvia Mendez in 1954. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sylvia Mendez in March 2018. US Department of Agriculture, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons