Mendez v. Westminster, which ended segregated education in California
Children
2
Awards
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Sylvia Mendez when she was 8 years old.
Sylvia Mendez (born June 7, 1936) is an American civil rights activist and retired nurse. At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the Mendez v. Westminster case, the landmark desegregation case of 1946. The case successfully ended de jure segregation in California[1] and paved the way for integration and the American civil rights movement.[2]
Mendez grew up during a time when most southern and southwestern schools were segregated. In the case of California, Hispanics were not allowed to attend schools that were designated for "Whites" only and were sent to the so-called "Mexican schools." Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites" only school, an event which prompted her parents to take action and together organized various sectors of the Hispanic community who filed a lawsuit in the local federal court. The success of their action, of which Sylvia was the principal catalyst, would eventually bring to an end the era of segregated education.[3]
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, by President Obama in 2011.
^Geisler, Lindsey (September 11, 2006). "Mendez case paved way for Brown v. Board". Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
^"Sauceda, Isis (March 28, 2007). "Cambio Historico (Historic Change)". People en Español (in Spanish): 111–112.
^Jennings, Lisa (May 2004). "The End of the "Mexican School"". Hispanic Business Magazine. Archived from the original on October 29, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
SylviaMendez (born June 7, 1936) is an American civil rights activist and retired nurse. At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the Mendez...
politician SylviaMendez (born 1936), American civil rights activist Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez (1848–1936), Mexican politician Alexis Méndez (born 1969)...
academic preparation. When SylviaMendez was told to attend a Mexican school, her parents brought suit against the court in Mendez vs. Westminster (1947)...
and get second chances at life". Retrieved June 10, 2015. Ventura, SylviaMendez (2005). A Literary Journey with Gilda Cordero-Fernando. UP Press. pp...
Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center. The school is named after Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez, parents of American civil rights activist SylviaMendez who at...
Badakhshan Massacre Yo-Yo Ma Cellist & United Nations Messenger of Peace SylviaMendez Civil Rights Activist Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany Stan Musial...
successful cases include Mendez v. Westminster in 1945 and Minerva Delgado V. Bastrop Independent School District in 1948. In the Mendez case, Thurgood Marshall...
Is Never Equal: SylviaMendez and Her Family's Fight (May 6, 2014): About ten years before Brown v. Board of Education, SylviaMendez was denied the right...
"History of SylviaMendez | Berkeley Unified School District". www.berkeleyschools.net. 3 August 2011. "LeConte Elementary renamed for SylviaMendez, desegregation...
notable omissions from the first class included civil rights activist SylviaMendez, pastor Rick Warren, Catholic priest Junípero Serra, U.S. president...
Citizen's Medal. SylviaMéndez, civil rights activist and educator. Instrumental in the 1946 landmark desegregation case of Mendez v. Westminster which...
Indio Bravo: The Story of Jose Rizal by Asuncion Lopez-Rizal Bantug and SylviaMendez Ventura (2017) Philippine Cartography 1320-1899 by Carlos Quirino (2018)...
court case regarding the rights of HIV+ children in public schools* SylviaMéndez – American civil rights activist; of Mexican-Puerto Rican heritage Eugene...
income divisions. De jure racial segregation was overturned in 1947 with Mendez vs. Westminster, yet segregation still continued in practice in many areas...
Klein, Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Thomas Emmett Little, Yo-Yo Ma, SylviaMendez, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, NBA star Bill Russell, Jean Kennedy...
School (formerly Jefferson Elementary) John Muir Elementary School SylviaMendez Elementary School (formerly Le Conte Elementary School) Malcolm X Arts...
Farallon Islands Duncan Tonatiuh Duncan Tonatiuh Separate Is Never Equal: SylviaMendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation Jacqueline Woodson — Brown Girl...
Global Information
