Sylvia (b. 1936) and her brothers attended the Westminster school until her family moved back to Santa Ana. Sylvia graduated from an integrated high school and attended California State University, where she studied to become a registered nurse. She worked for thirty-three years at a medical center in Los Angeles and then retired to take care of her ill mother. Sylvia remembers that before Felícitas passed away, she regretted the fact that so few people knew about the Mendez case and her family’s fight for equality. Indeed, the Mendez case is seldom taught in schools. Unlike Brown v. Board of Education, which is widely known, Mendez v. Westminster is known by few Americans to this day. After her mother died, Sylvia made it her mission to educate people about her family’s fight for desegregation.
In recent decades, the Mendez case has finally begun to receive some attention and recognition. Documentaries have been made about it, and books and articles have been written about it. In 2002, a public school in Santa Ana was named after Felícitas and Gonzalo Mendez. In 2007, a commemorative stamp
was issued by the U.S. Postal Service to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Mendez victory. In 2009, a high school in Los Angeles was named the Felícitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center. And in 2011, Sylvia Mendez received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. It is the highest civilian award a person can receive in America.
Thanks to the efforts of courageous people like the Mendez family, the segregation of public schools is illegal in the United States. Unfortunately, a great deal of inequality—and a kind of unofficial segregation—still exists today.
According to a 2012 study by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, across the United States segregation has increased significantly in recent years. It reported that 43 percent of Latino students and 38 percent of black students attend schools where fewer than 10 percent of their classmates are white. The study, which analyzes data from the Department of Education, also reveals that Latino and black children are twice as likely to be in school where the majority of students are poor. Therefore, their schools are likely to have fewer resources and less experienced teachers. All too often I see this inequality when I visit schools in different parts of the country to read and to talk about my books.
The Mendez family went to court almost seventy years ago, but their fight is relevant today. As the education specialists in the trial argued, the segregation of children creates feelings of superiority in one group and inferiority in another. We need to be able to interact and mingle so that prejudices break down, so that we can learn from one another, and so that everyone has a fair shot at success.
My hope is that this book will help children and young people learn about this important yet little known event in American history. I also hope that they will see themselves reflected in Sylvia’s story and realize that their voices are valuable and that they too can make meaningful contributions to this country.
36
Top left: Sylvia as a young girl, 1947. Top right: Sylvia in 2011, after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bottom left: Sylvia’s parents, 1947. Middle right: The Westminster school. Bottom right: Hoover Elementary.
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GLOSSARY
American Jewish Congress: an association that promotes Jewish
interests in the United States and other countries
appeal: to request, after a trial is finished, that a higher court review
the outcome
brief: a legal term that refers to a summary prepared for a lawyer at
a trial
case: a dispute between opposing parties, resolved by a court
citizen: a person who owes allegiance to the government and is
entitled to full civic rights and privileges
court: a judge or a judicial body that makes decisions in cases
according to the law
courthouse: a building where a case is tried
court of appeals: a court that reviews decisions made by lower
courts
courtroom: a room within a courthouse where a case is tried
decision: a judge’s conclusion after hearing both sides of a case;
a ruling
degrading: causing a loss of self-respect
equal opportunity: a policy of treating others without
discrimination, especially on the basis of their gender, race, or age
ethnicity: a group of people who have a common national or
cultural tradition
field-worker: an agricultural laborer, often working long hours for
low pay
hygiene: conditions relating to health, especially personal well-
being
impetigo: a skin disease
inferior: of lesser quality
injustice: something that is not fair
integrate: to open to members of all races, ethnicities, and other
groups
Japanese American Citizens League: an association that protects
civil and human rights and works for social change, particularly in
the Asian–Pacific American community
judge: a public official, appointed or elected, who oversees cases
in a court
lawsuit: a dispute brought to a court for a decision to be made;
a case
lawyer: a person educated in the law who advises others on legal
matters
League of United Latin American Citizens: the largest Latino civil
rights organization in the United States
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People:
an association that works for equal rights and to eliminate racial
discrimination
opportunity: a chance to advance
petition: a formal written document requesting a right or benefit
from a person or group in authority
public school: a school paid for by public funds that provides free
education to the children of a community or district
rule: to decide; to issue a ruling
ruling: a court decision
school board: a group of public officials that oversees public
schools in a defined area
school district: an area, such as a neighborhood, town, or county,
whose public schools are administered together
segregate: to separate people based on race, ethnicity, class, or
other factors
“separate but equal”: a policy based on the U.S. Supreme
Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that holds that certain
groups of people can be denied access to public spaces, such as
schools, housing, eating establishments, restrooms, pools, and
entertainment facilities, as long as they are provided facilities of an
equal nature
stand: the place in a courtroom where a witness sits (or stands)
while being questioned by a lawyer
superintendent: the head of a school district. States define the role
and authority of a school superintendent in different ways.
superior: of greater quality
trenza: a hair braid
trial: a formal examination of evidence by a judge or jury, in order to
make a decision in a case
tuberculosis: a potentially fatal disease of the lungs
U.S. territory: an area, such as Puerto Rico, that is governed by the
United States but is not a state
38
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Interviews
Author interviews with Sylvia Mendez in Austin, Texas, October
2012, and in Fullerton, California, April 2013.
Transcripts
Documents and records of Mendez v. Westminster (1946) can
be found at the National Archives at Riverside (Perris, Calif.).
Documents and records
of Mendez v. Westminster (1947) can be
found at the National Archives at San Francisco (Bruno, Calif.). For
information on the National Archives and Record Administration,
go to http://www.archives.gov/research.
Films
Bennett, Erica, and Fred Paskiewicz. Mendez v. Westminster: Families
for Equality. Fullerton, Calif.: Fullerton College, 2010.
Robbie, Sandra. Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para
todos los niños. Huntington Beach, Calif.: KOCE-TV, 2002.
Books
Conkling, Winifred. Sylvia and Aki. Berkeley, Calif.: Tricycle Press,
2011.
Matsuda, Michael, and Sandra Robbie. Los Méndez contra la ciudad
de Westminster: Por todos los niños; La historia de una victoria de
derechos civiles en los Estados Unidos. Yorba Linda, Calif.: Blue
State Press, 2006.
Strum, Philippa. Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and
Mexican-American Rights. Lawrence, Kans.: University Press of
Kansas, 2010.
Articles and Reports
Arriola, Christopher. “Knocking on the Schoolhouse Door: Mendez
v. Westminster, Equal Protection, Public Education, and Mexican
Americans in the 1940’s.” La Raza Law Journal 8, no. 2 (1995).
Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“E Pluribus . . . Separation: Deepening Double Segregation for
More Students.” http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-
12-education/integration-and-diversity/mlk-national/e-
pluribus...separation-deepening-double-segregation-for-more-
students. Accessed August 21, 2013.
Luhby, Tami. “Worsening Wealth Inequality by Race.” CNN Money,
June 21, 2012. http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/21/news/
economy/wealth-gap-race/index.htm. Accessed July 19, 2013.
Orfield, Gary, John Kucsera, and Genevieve Siegel-Hawley. “E
Pluribus . . . Separation: Deepening Double Segregation for
More Students.” Report of the Civil Rights Project, University of
California, Los Angeles, 2012.
Rich, Motoko. “Segregation Prominent in Schools, Study Finds.”
New York Times, September 19, 2012. http://www.nytimes.
com/2012/09/20/education/segregation-prominent-in-schools-
study-finds.html. Accessed August 21, 2013.
Ruiz, Vicki L. “We Always Tell Our Children They Are Americans:
Mendez v. Westminster and the California Road to Brown v.
Board of Education.” College Board Review no. 200 (Fall 2003):
20–27.
Websites
“Before Brown v. Board of Education,” on National Public Radio
website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.
php?storyId=1784243.
Mendez v. Westminster Case:
www.mendezwestminstercase.blogspot.com.
Sylvia and Sandra Mendez Duran’s page on StoryCorps website:
http://storycorps.org/listen/sylvia-mendez-and-sandra-mendez-
duran/.
Sylvia Mendez’s personal site: http://
sylviamendezinthemendezvswestminster.com.
“2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient—Sylvia Mendez,”
on White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-
and-video/video/2011/02/16/2010-presidential-medal-
freedom-recipient-sylvia-mendez.
ABOUT THE TEXT
The dialogue in the trial scene comes directly from court transcripts.
I shortened and edited it for clarity and pacing. The dialogue in
the rest of the book is inspired by conversations I had with Sylvia
Mendez in October 2012 and April 2013.
INDEX
Note: Page numbers in italics refer to pictures.
American Jewish Congress, 32
Atkinson, Mr., county superintendent, 13
California, school integration in, 33
Estrada family, joining the lawsuit, 22–23, 22
Harris, Mr., school superintendent, 12–13, 13, 28
Japanese American Citizens League, 32
Kent, Mr., school superintendent, 25–27, 25
League of United Latin American Citizens, 32
Los Angeles, trial in, 24–30
39
Marcus, David:
gathering support for lawsuit, 20, 20, 22
legal action taken by, 18, 23, 23
in the trial, 24–29, 25
McCormick, Judge Paul, 25, 29–30, 29
Mendez, Felícitas (mother), 3, 9, 34
at the trial, 26, 28, 28
working on the farm, 21, 21
Mendez, Gonzalo (father), 5, 9
gathering support for the cause, 16, 17, 18, 20, 20, 22
speaking to authorities, 12–13, 13
at the trial, 26, 28, 28
Mendez, Gonzalo Jr. and Jerome (brothers), 5, 7
Mendez, Sylvia:
enrolling in school, 7–11
first day of school, 2–3, 2–3
at Hoover Elementary, 15, 14-15
at the trial, 24–30, 24, 27, 29
Mendez family:
fighting for equal treatment, 16–18, 16, 20, 23, 32–33, 34
move to Westminster, 4–5, 4–5
trial, 24–30, 24–25, 26–27, 28, 29, 30-31
unequal treatment of, 10, 15
Mexican Americans:
integration as beneficial for, 29–30
jobs threatened, 17
lawsuits for equality, 18, 20
unequal treatment of, 15, 16, 18, 18–19, 22, 23, 27, 29
Mexican school (Hoover Elementary):
bad conditions in, 14–15, 15, 16
Mendez children required to attend, 8–11, 12–13, 26
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 32
Orange County:
gathering support in, 20, 20, 22-23
trial held in, 24–30
Parents’ Association of Mexican-American Children, 17
San Bernardino, segregated public pools in, 18, 18-19
San Francisco, case retried in, 31–33
Torres, Carol, 28, 28
Vidaurri, Alice and Virginia (cousins), 6, 7, 8, 10, 10
Vidaurri, Soledad (aunt), 6, 7–9, 11–12
Warren, Earl, 33
Westminster school:
Mendez children prevented from attending, 8–13
Sylvia’s first day in, 2, 2–3
Sylvia’s next day in, 34, 34–35
TO THE MEMORY OF GONZALO AND FELICITAS MENDEZ
AND TO PATTY, FOR ALL HER LOVE AND SUPPORT
—D.T.
The illustrations for this book were hand-drawn and then
collaged and colored digitally.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be
obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1054-4
Text copyright © 2014 Duncan Tonatiuh
Illustrations copyright © 2014 Duncan Tonatiuh
Book design by Maria T. Middleton
Published in 2014 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint
of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Printed and bound in China
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Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation (Jane Addams Award Book (Awards)) Page 2
