But not many people know that eight years earlier the federal courts in California decided another important case called Mendez versus Westminster.
Based on the evidence presented, I decided that separate schools in California were not protected by the law. Roadways to the Federal Bench: Who Me? 0000009211 00000 n They helped our children get the education we dreamed of for them. Westminster Sch.
Picture Holder: (Picture of Linda Brown and her mother on Supreme Court steps). And my wife was born in this country.
Earl Warren: I was the Governor of California when Sylvia Mendez won her case. Picture Holder: (Picture of Thurgood Marshall in a suit). Now it is your turn to take up the journey. When the neighborhood school turned away my children, I was furious and contacted Mr. David Marcus. Raise your hand, Sylvia. 0000001681 00000 n of the postage stamp that commemorated sixty years of the Mendez v. Westminster court case in 2007. Student Narrator: Two girls about our age made history in the fight for school desegregation. 0000009891 00000 n Linda: Several years after Sylvia’s case, Mr. Thurgood Marshall represented me and my family in the landmark case Brown versus Board of Education. 107 0 obj If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link above. Sylvia grew up and went on to become a nurse. And President Obama gave her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work. As a result, California slowly started to integrate its schools. One was nine-year-old Sylvia Mendez. FAQ https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/468, Home Accessibility Statement, Privacy I am also happy that Linda Brown went to court to gain equal access to education, too. Mendez v. Westminster School District landed an important blow to school segregation in California. As an attorney for the NAACP, I wrote an official, legal letter to the federal court in California where Sylvia’s case was being heard. The debate surrounding Mexican Americans’ identity and place in California’s racial hierarchy was at the center of this case, yet trial documents do not use the word “race,” but rather employ terminology such as “ancestry” and “descent.” This thesis will not only analyze the trial and the arguments used within the case but will show how the role of whiteness and race played a role in a case that blatantly tried to ignore the topic. I signed legislation that prohibited schools from segregating children based on their race or ethnic heritage. That’s why you see me wearing a robe in this picture. Picture Holder: (Picture of man in suit and hat). 0000084557 00000 n (Note to Greeter: Pause for a show of hands). Mr. Marcus: As a civil rights attorney, I took unpopular cases to fight for equal rights for all Americans.
0000001315 00000 n A Bankruptcy Judge? 0000008462 00000 n Earl Warren: I am California Governor Earl Warren. In addition to Mendez’ lessons, the students were shown a documentary by filmmaker Sandra Robby, which detailed Mendez v. Westminster. I am very grateful to my parents, who never stopped fighting for me. Home xref Mr. Marshall: Raise your hand if you have heard of me. The Mendez vs. Westminster school segregation case of 1945 ruled in favor of Mexican American school children in California and their right to attend “white” schools in accordance with their Fourteenth Amendment rights.
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When I was in third grade, the school closest to our house did not let my brothers and me register there.
<>stream A lot of the evidence I used in the Mendez case showed how segregated schools made Mexican students feel inferior and, ultimately, hurt our society. Access to education is one of these basic rights.
Mrs. Mendez: My daughter Sylvia was only nine when our case began. 468. 0000001570 00000 n My husband and I fought for three years so that our children could go to public schools with the Anglo children. 0000006847 00000 n I urged the Court to remember that the Bill of Rights applies to everyone. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan. It is the case of Sylvia Mendez and many other Mexican children who were not allowed to go to public schools with Caucasian children in California. I represented the Mendez family and other families in their lawsuit. (Note to Speaker: Pause to let students respond.). 0000003177 00000 n
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Government Documents Gonzalo Mendez, etal v. Westminster School … 107 26 Raise your hand, Linda. 0000006085 00000 n Justice Thurgood Marshall: Yes, that’s right. Albert, Samantha R., "Mendez V. Westminister (1945): A Case that Brought Race to Center Stage" (2017). This case didn’t have to go all the way to the Supreme Court because the parties accepted my decision as the final resolution. <]/Prev 595780>> I got some other parents together and we sued our school districts to break up the segregation in the schools.
endobj The purpose of this site is to provide information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government. Graduate Masters Theses. Five Mexican American families took on four schools districts from the Orange County to court to claim that segregation based on “ancestry” was not a viable reason to separate white and Mexican American school children. It is a journey that continues today. The specific infrastructure and culture created in California surrounding its marginalized groups was demonstrated throughout the trial through strategies used both by the plaintiffs and defendants. 468, Mendez V. Westminister (1945): A Case that Brought Race to Center Stage, Samantha R. Albert, University of Massachusetts BostonFollow. Speaker #1: Student Greeter Picture Holder: (Picture of Linda Brown and her mother on Supreme Court steps) Student Greeter: One of the U.S. Supreme Court . The Mendez vs. Westminster school segregation case of 1945 ruled in favor of Mexican American school children in California and their right to attend “white” schools in accordance with their Fourteenth Amendment rights. All of my children were born here and, of course, they spoke English. Picture Holder: (Picture of Chief Justice Warren wearing robe). Picture Holder: (Picture of Mr. and Mrs. Mendez). About 0000001801 00000 n Picture Holder: (Same picture of Mr. and Mrs. Mendez). %PDF-1.6 %���� Brown versus Board of Education is famous. Mendez v. Westminster (Civil Case 4292) Westminster (Civil Case 4292) Although many families were affected by the segregation and violation of rights, Gonzalo Mendez took full responsibility for the financial part of the lawsuit which required hiring a lawyer and paying the lost wages of those who testified in court. startxref 0000004540 00000 n Dist. They never met, but they changed history. 132 0 obj Mr. Marshall’s participation in the Mendez case helped us win our case, too. We didn’t have to go all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States to get justice because we won our appeal in California. | Now it is up to you to continue this important work. DISS_THESES 0000005290 00000 n Student Greeter: One of the U.S. Supreme Court landmark cases that affects us at school is Brown versus Board of Education. The school officials said that they would enroll my cousins I always told my children that “we are all individuals; that we are all human beings; that we are all connected together; and that we all have the same rights, the same freedom. This article analyzes Mendez v. Westminster School District, a 1946 federal court case that ruled that separate but equal schools for Mexican American children in Orange County, California, was unconstitutional and thatBrown v. Sylvia Mendez: Here I am, again -- Sylvia Mendez – all grown up now. <> She helped set the stage for Linda Brown’s victory at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C. Linda’s case was the famous Brown versus Board of Education.
We fought hard for our children’s education – and for yours, too.
Picture Holder: (Picture of Justice Marshall wearing robe). 0000000016 00000 n