Most Americans are keenly aware of the African American civil rights movement. However, few know about the comparable struggle of Mexican Americans to enjoin the practice of segregated public schools in the Southwest. This article analyzes Mendez v. Westminster School District, a 1946 federal court case that ruled that separate but equal schools for Mexican American children in Orange County, California, was unconstitutional and that influenced the famous 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education.
Alvarez v. Lemon Grove School District, Superior Court, San Diego County, No. 66625 (1931).
2.
Arriola, C. (1995). Knocking on the schoolhouse door: Mendez v. Westminster, equal protection, public education, and Mexican Americans in the 1940s. La Raza Law Journal, 8(2), 166 et seq.
3.
Attorney General of Texas. (1947). Opinion no. V-128. In Digest of opinions of the Attorney General of Texas. Austin, TX: State of Texas.
4.
Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1953).
5.
Brief of the Attorney General of the State of California as amicus curiae, Westminster v. Mendez, 161 F. 2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947, No. 11,310).
6.
Briggs v. Elliott, 98 F. Supp. 920 (1953).
7.
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
8.
Cray, E. (1998). Chief justice: A biography of Earl Warren. New York: Simon & Schuster.
9.
Davies, L. E. (1946, December 22). Segregation of Mexican American students stirs court fight. New York Times Magazine, pg. 6.
10.
Davis v. Prince Edward County, 103 F. Supp. 337 (1953).
11.
Delgado v. Batrop Independent School District, Civ. No. 388 (W.D. Tex. June 15, 1948).
12.
Espinosa, P. (Producer & Writer). (1985). The lemon grove incident [Motion picture]. (Available from Espinosa Productions, P.O. Box 1925, Scottsdale, AZ 85252)
13.
Gebhart v. Belton, 91 A. 2d 137 (1953).
14.
Gonzalez v. Sheely, 96 F. Supp. 1004 (1951).
15.
Greenfield, G. A., & Kates, D. B., Jr. (1975). Mexican Americans, racial discrimination and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. California Law Review, 63, 682 et seq.
16.
Hernandez v. State of Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954).
17.
Irons, P. (1999). A people’s history of the Supreme Court. New York: Penguin.
18.
Lesson learned on school discrimination. (1996, September 9). Los Angeles Times, pp. A1, A16-A17.
19.
Lopez v. Seccombe, 71 F. Supp. 769 (S.D. Cal. 1944).
20.
McWilliams, C. (1968). North from Mexico. New York: Greenwood.
21.
Mendez v. Westminster School District, et al., 64 F. Supp. 544 (S.D. Cal. 1946).
22.
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896).
23.
Reporter’s Transcript Proceedings, Mendez v. Westminster, 64 F. Supp. 544 (S.D. Cal. 1946)
24.
Westminster v. Mendez, 161 F. 2d. 774 (9th Cir. 1947).
