mendez v westminster

WHY:This case impacts ELLs because if this case had not taken place, many children of Mexican descent would have not had the opportunity to attend public schools and learn the English language.This case impacts me as an educator because understanding that years ago children were not given the opportunity to learn the language completely by being segregated, it makes me want to be more passionate about teaching ELLs.

" The equal protection of the laws' pertaining to the public school system in California is not provided by furnishing in separate schools the same technical facilities, text books and courses of instruction to children of Mexican ancestry that are available to the other public school children regardless of their ancestry. A paramount requisite in the American system of public education is social equality. It must be open to all children by unified school association regardless of lineage."

Mendez v. Westminster1946

HOW:This entire case affected thousands of Mexican American children. It gave them the opportunity to a quality education. It opened up doors that many families never thought were possible.

WHO: Gonzalo Mendez was a Mexican American WWII veteran and a farmer in the Westminster district in Orange County.

WHERE & WHEN:Gonzalo Mendez's children were not allowed to attend Westminster Public School because they were of Mexican descent in 1946 in Orange County, CA.

WHAT HAPPENED:1.) Gonzalo Mendez sent his sister, Sally, to the Westminster School District to register his children for school, but they were denied access because they were from Mexican descent. 2.) Mr. Mendez decided to go to the School Board to tell them that it is an injustice that his children that lived in the Westminister School District were not allowed to go there. 3.) In 1945, Mendez and four other parents filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 5,000 Mexican American families to integrate the schools in four Orange County school districts.4.) David Marcus, a Los Angeles Attorney argued that not allowing admission to children based on their race violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendement of the Constitution. 5.) In 1946, federal Judge Paul J. McCormick ruled in favor of the Mendezes. 6.) In 1947, the Westminster School District decided to file an appeal to the case because they argued that the federal court did not have authority in this matter.7.) The Mendez family and Attorney Marcus decided to sought out support from several multiracial organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American Jewish Congress, American Civil Liberties Union, and the Japanese American Citizens League.8.) Attorney Thurgood Marshall decided to join the team. 9.)The Court ruled that the segregation of Mexican American children violated the Fourteenth Amendment.10.) In 1947, "The Anderson Bill" was passed and allowed Mexican American children to attend public schools.