One of the most well known Supreme Court Cases of all time is the Brown v. Board case, where the Supreme Court finally decided to desegregate American schools. This case arose in 1952, when Linda Brown, a black child, was denied access to go to a white school. It took two years for the final reversal of segregated schools to finally come into law. However, what is often not taught in schools, is a case very similar that desegregated schools in California.
Mendez v. Westminster
Before schools became desegregated, a slogan, “separate but equal,” kept students of color in underfunded, undereducated schools. It wasn’t until 1943 that this stance was truly questioned. Before this, many Mexican-Americans in California were forced to go to schools due to their “little to no English language skills” (NPS). However, these schools never taught students with a college trajectory in mind, they taught them vocational skills only.
Gonzalo Mendez saw this and tried to send his children to Westminster Main School in Orange County, but all were denied admission due to their Mexican descent. However, the Mendez’s cousins, who had lighter skin and a French last name, were admitted to the school. On March 2, 1945, Mendez and five other Mexican-American fathers filed a lawsuit on behalf of 5,000 Hispanic children against four different California school districts.
For the first time in a federal court, there was evidence put forth that segregating students based on ethnicity was against the 14th Amendment, and segregation harmed those being segregated. There were many different arguments made for and against racial segregation in schools. The most prominent reason Mexican American children were segregated for, “providing special instruction to students not fluent in English and not familiar with American values and customs’’ (Wollenberg,1974). However, it was eventually pointed out that there was no equality in the segregated schools at all. On March 18, 1946, Judge Paul J. McCormick ruled in favor of Mendez stating, “segregation prevalent in the defendant school districts foster antagonisms in the children and suggest inferiority among them where none exists”(Mendez).
Why has this not been taught in schools? It is of the utmost importance for American students to recognize significant turning points in what has led to our school system now, and in our justice system in general. Mendez v. Westminster is a key case in American history due to its significance in the Brown v Board of Education case. In fact, even Thurgood Marshall, lead counsel in the Brown v Board case, used the Mendez v Westminster decision as precedent in front of the Supreme Court (Mendez).
References
Bria 23 2 C mendez v westminster: Paving the way to school desegregation. Constitutional Rights Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-23-2-c-mendez-v-westminster-paving-the-way-to-school-desegregation
Santiago, M. (2015). Reconceptualizing the teaching of mexican american contributions in U.S. history: A case study on 0RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2mendez v. westminster1RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2 (Order No. 28120023). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2508624959). Retrieved from http://library.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/reconceptualizing-teaching-mexican-american/docview/2508624959/se-2
“U.S. Court House and Post Office—American Latino Heritage: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Valencia , Richard R. The Mexican American Struggle for Equal Educational Opportunity in Mendez v. Westminster: Helping to Pave the Way for Brown v. Board of Education.
Wollenberg, C. (1974). Mendez v. Westminster: Race, nationality, and segregation in California schools. California Historical Quarterly.