Mendez v. Westminster (1946)

 

 

Few people in the United States are aware of the vital role that Mexican Americans have played in some of the most important legal struggles regarding school desegregation. The most significant such case is Mendez v. Westminster (1946). Just as the twentieth century began, California's thriving citrus industry attracted scores of Mexican immigrant workers. Within two decades, the Mexican American populace in southern and central California had tripled. City and county governments, dominated by Anglo citizenry created different ways of public segregation. One way was through the public school. Most school districts with a sizable Mexican American community had Anglos and Mexican-Americans split into different classrooms. However, more commonly, there were "Mexican" schools. Many Anglo groups felt they were supported by the legal doctrine "separate but equal.”

 

In 1945, seeking to end segregation in their own public schools, Gonzalo Mendez and other Latino parents, sued four Orange County school districts through the federal district court in Los Angeles. These school districts were Westminster, El Modena, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove.

 

Mendez and the others charged that the school districts had segregated students into separate schools only on the premise that the children were of Mexican or Latino descent. They drew a distinction between discrimination based on race and that based on national origin. The lawyers for the school districts defendants argued that public schools were segregated because the students spoke a foreign language. Because of this language impediment, the school districts said non-English-speaking pupils should attend separate schools until they could speak English with some expertise.

 

The judgment by the court was in favor of Mendez. The court established that under the 14th Amendment and its equal protection provision, there must be equal access to education. The court further stated that under this provision, segregation based solely on national origin was unconstitutional.

 

The then governor of California, Earl Warren, worked through the state legislature to enact legislation and repeal the state's educational codes that permitted segregation in public schools.

 

The Mendez case became the first successful constitutional challenge to segregation. The decision was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Although the Mendez case was never appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, many legal scholars believe that it was a case that could have achieved what Brown eventually did eight years later. This case could have reversed the High Court's 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, which had approved legal segregation for nearly 60 years. Even though Mendez did not bring about the reversal of Plessy, it did lay some of the important groundwork for the landmark case Brown v. the Board of Education.

 

 

 

Teacher’s Domain: Mendez v. Westminster

Includes film clip, essay, study questions (you will have to register if you are to continually use this site)

 

We Always Tell Our Children They are Americans: Mendez v. Westminster (Brown Foundation)

This is an article from The Brown Quarterly, Volume 6, No. 3 (Fall 2004);

Hispanic Heritage Issue

 

Mendez v. Westminster School District: Paving the Path for School Desegregation and Brown V. Board of Education (2004 Symposium sponsored by UCLA).

Great information once you get past the introductions and symposium schedule.

 

Mendez v. Westminster Commemorative Stamp

From the Smithsonian Postal Museum, background on the case, including the U.S. postage stamp that came out in September 2007 to honor this important case.

 

The federal district court’s decision.

 

9th Circuit Appellate Opinion (Pdf format of the court’s opinion in the appeal).  

 

School Desegregation and Civil Rights Stories: Orange County, California (From the National Archives)

Mendez v. Westminster (from C-Span):  Author Phillipa Strum speaks about the case, August 18, 2010.
52 minute video.

Mendez v. Westminster (YouTube):  Author Phillipa Strum is interviewed.

Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County (from the State Bar of Texas): Contains a case summary, the legal issue, the decision, resources and a section for teachers.

Righting a Wrong: Mendez v. Westminster brought an end to segregation in OC schools - and ultimately throughout the state and nation.  By Philip Zonkel, Press Telegram, Staff Writer.

Hispanic Caucus Applauds Passage of Mendez v. Westminster Resolution (American Chronicle)

 

Turning Points: Ideas from the National Archives for NHD 2000

Records of the United States District Courts are held by NARA's Pacific Region (Laguna Niguel). Case File: CV-4299 (1945) - Gonzalo Mendez et al. v. Westminister School District of Orange, CA, et al.

 

NARA, Laguna Niguel (National Archives and Records Administration):  If you really want to use the above resources (court case documents) located at Laguna Niguel, California, visit the following site to find out how to get to there and what rules this institution has. 

 

The history of the 17th Street School and how the Mendez lawsuit led to its integration.

 

Sandra Robbie discusses her documentary of the Mendez case

 

Short summaries of key court cases Related to Education with links for more information.