Throughout history, America has been known to isolate people of color as much as it can. Sylvia Mendez has witnessed the fight for equal treatment of minorities since the age of eleven. Mendez was born in Santa Ana, California in 1936. She grew up in a Hispanic household, her mother was Puerto Rican and her father was Mexican. Mendez was always seeking to uphold her cultural roots and values. Sylvia Mendez chose to stand up for what she believed in from a young age and flourished into a great civil rights activist.
The time period after World War 2 was a time when the United States sought to infringe on people's rights in order to maintain the integrity of the nation. Racism against Asian Americans skyrocketed and many families was ordered to move to internment camps by the American government. The Mendez family moved to a farm within California's borders, replacing a Japanese American family who was displaced to an internment camp. Sylvia wanted to go to a school where white children attended in her new school district. The school had access to better quality resources and amenities, while in school she was "supposed to" attend, with all the other Hispanic kids, and was noticeably underfunded with second-hand books. The children in this school weren't even taught basic literacy skills. Instead, the girls were required to learn how to sew and learn housekeeping skills, and the boys were taught to do hard labor. Sylvia didn't want to jeopardize her education and thought she would be able to attend the predominately white school.
Her parents attempted to enroll in the 17th Street School but were utterly denied. Whereas, Sylvia's cousins were welcomed to the school with open arms, all because of their pale complexion and French last name. Mendez's aunt pulled the kids from the school after hearing that Sylvia was unable to attend; the whole family knew in their heart that no one should stand for this. There was a clear case of racial discrimination in this predominantly white school so the Mendez family took action.
Together, the Mendez family began to spread the word of their need to take action. The family grew passionate and even strayed away from their family farm. Sylvia's father, Gonzalo, hired a lawyer that had experience in winning a desegregation case. The family went around California, looking for others who wanted to take a stand against the white people trying to deprive Hispanic children of proper education.
With no surprise, the Mendez family found other families with a passion for change in segregated schools.
Five men united to file a federal lawsuit against the four Orange County school districts they came from, representing about 5,000 Mexican American children. In July of 1945, the lawsuit was officially filed and a trial took place for two weeks. Sylvia recalls being too young to fully grasp the meaning of the case, but she still yearned to learn in the "beautiful school."
The Mendez v. Westminster case was finally decided on, favoring the Mendez family. Outraged, the Orange County school district took the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals. The Court affirmed the ruling of the U.S. District Court, officially ruling the segregation of Orange County schools unconstitutional. Two months later, the governor of California instated a bill ending segregation in schools for the state. The Mendez family, along with other brave Mexican families, paved the way for the state of California to make history with the first state to desegregate public schools. Even more noteworthy, Mendez v. Westminster set the stage for the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, allowing the Supreme Court to establish a precedent for the desegregation of schools nationwide.
Sylvia Mendez lived a childhood with people to support her journey in life, as a Latin American girl. She grew up with the need to help others, with a career in nursing in mind. Mendez went to school and graduated with an associate's degree at Orange Coast Community College and a bachelor's degree at California State University, both in nursing. She was even awarded a public health certificate from California State University for her diligent work there. She spent 30 years working as a nurse before she retired and advocated for racial equality, traveling to schools across the nation to explain the significance of her family's case. Mendez was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. Sylvia Mendez continues to dedicate herself to her family's legacy educating our youth on racial equality and equity.
"We are all individuals; we are all human beings; we are all connected together; and we all have the same rights, the same freedom." - Sylvia Mendez
Writer: Angelica Vivas
Sources:
http://sylviamendezschool.org/who-is-sylvia-mendez
https://www.biography.com/news/sylvia-mendez-school-segregation-fight
https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/background-mendez-v-westminster-re-enactment
https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/mendez-v-westminster
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Sylvia-Mendez/631939
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