In the early part of the 20th century, Mexican-American children were often segregated into “Mexican” schools. Usually in ramshackle rooms or barns, these kids were not allowed to be educated in the same manner as their Anglo counterparts. A Mexican-American child was not permitted inside an Anglo school.
In 1945, Mexican-American parents attempted to enroll their children into an elementary school in the Westminster School District in Orange County, California. The children and their parents were turned away and told to enroll in the “Mexican” school. One of those families was named Mendez. Not willing to accept less for their daughter Sylvia, they organized, and filed a lawsuit on behalf of 5,000 families, across four school districts in Orange County.
With the help of future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, Mendez v. Westminster ruled in favor of the Mexican-American families, overturning the California law, and setting up the legal groundwork for the monumental Brown v. Board of Education, seven years later.
This brief photo essay helps visualize the complex, and equal parts triumphant and tragic history of Mexican segregation in the United States, up to the present.
The 1934 1st Grade Class at the “Mexican” Wilson School in Orange County, CA.
Left: Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez, parents whose objection of their children’s school segregation set the stage for Mendez vs Westminster. Right: Mexican-American schoolchildren eating school lunch. Segregation of Latino students was the norm. Taken at a school in Penasco, New Mexico, United States. December 1941.
Left: Signage like this was rampant throughout the Southwest. Center: Schoolgirl at the center of the court case, Sylvia Mendez at age 10. Right: LA Times headline of court ruling announcing the outcome of Mendez v Westminster.
Signs like this are a reminder of just how far we’ve come. Taken in Dallas, TX.
Why didn’t you post my comment? It said awaiting moderation, bu that was this morning! There was nothing inappropriate about it. I just corrected what you got wrong. Please post my original comment!
Putos gringos!!
Cripes, as a ‘Hispanic’ American, I was disappointed by the rampant anti-Caucasion attitude amongst working-class Mexican Americans once I moved to LA. All that La Raza and ‘taking back the Southwest’ nonsense seemed so divisive. Now I see that it’s just reaction to action. Here’s to the day we see beyond race, especially trigger-tempered cholos!