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School Segregation in Orange County
80% of schools in Orange County were segregated with Mexicans attending non-anglo school.
Mexican schools were housed in run down buildings, employed unqualifed teachers, ragged books, broken equipment and overcrowded classrooms.
Mexican curriculum consisted of labor skills for boys and domestic skills for girls. -
Enrollment Criteria for Schools in Orange County
Anglo School: Must have light skin, colored eyes, light hair (blonde or red hair), English speaking and English first/last names. Mexican School: Children who had darked brown skin, brown eyes, brown or black hair, Spanish speaking and Spanish first/last names. -
Enrollment Day
Silvia Mendez and her brothers went with their Aunt Soledad Vidaurri and her two children to enroll at 17th Street School in Westminster.
Adminstrator explained to Soledad that her two children could register at the "white" elementary school since they were half white, light skinned and French last names.
School officials said that the Mendez children had to enroll at Hoover school the town "Mexican school" because they had dark skin, Spanish names and dark hair. -
The Mendez Family
Gonzalo was born in Mexico and Felicitas Gomez in Puerto Rico.
Gonzalo and Felicitas emigrated to the U.S as children.
In 1936 they married.
In 1939 they had three children Sylvia, Gonzalo Jr. and Geronimo. -
Mendez File Lawsuit
The Mendez family organized a group of Mexican parents and sent letters to the board of education demanding that their schools be integrated but request was denied.
Mendez family hired Davis Marcus Civil Rights attorney to sue the Westminster school district.
Marcus decided to file a class action lawsuit against four Orange County school districts (Santa Ana, Garden Grove, El Modena and Westminster). -
Gathering Support
Gonzalo Mendez and Marcus drove across Orange County citrus groves and vegetables farms to organize Latino women and men and gather evidence.
Gonzalo and Marcus had a difficult time gathering support because laborers feared that their Anglo bosses might fire or depart them.
Gonzalo and Marcus built their case and the Mexican American community supported their cause. -
The Trial
Marcus argued that Mexican children were not treated equally by attending second-rate schools and were not given adequate language assessment before inclusion in the Mexican schools.
He also argued that segregation centered on the nationality violated the equal protection clause under the 14th amendment of the U.S. constitution. -
Counter Argument
Defense lawyer Joel Ogle countered by saying that education was a state issue and federal courts had n o jurisdictions and that Mexican students were segregated so they could receive English lessons to emerge them with fluent English speakers.
He also mentioned the 1896 supreme court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that gave legal sanction to racial segregation and separate facilities for different races were equal. -
The Verdict
On March 18th 1946 Judge Paul McCormick ruled that "segregation prevalent in the defendant school districts foster antagonism in the children and suggest inferiority among them where none exists and equal protection clause had been violated. -
Silvia Enrolls at 17th Street School
On September of 1947 the Silvia Mendez and her brothers enrolled at the 17th Street School in Westminster.
Schools in Garden Grove, El Mondena and Santa Ana followed by allowing Mexican children to enroll in their schools.
