Ask the class if anyone knows about (1) Mendez and (2) school integration. Homepage illustrations ©2009 by Rafael López originally appeared in "Book Fiesta" by Pat Mora and used with permission from HarperCollins. Scholars research the Supreme Court cases Mendez v. Assign Material 5, introducing it as excerpts from the Mendez ruling, as homework, and encourage students to write down questions if they have any as they are reading. Mendez influenced Brown in a variety of ways, and was a historic case in the legal battle to desegregate schools. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect. Weds.
Essential Understanding: The Mendez case is one case in a continuous movement to end school desegregation. For example, a student will read the first two paragraphs and possibly write in the margin: – five people file against the school board – their claim was based on the 14th amendment. ( Log Out / Frederick P. Aguirre, “Mendez v. Westminster School District: How it affected Brown v. Board of Education,” Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 4 (2005): 321-332. Most people have heard of Brown v.Board of Education, the historic 1954 Supreme Court ruling that officially ended segregation in public schools.What students usually don’t … Students will engage in activities to identify the political and social climate at the time of the ruling, identifying concrete perpetuations of bias and prejudice in the time of Mendez. Spring 2019 • History 25 CH • Pomona College, "All Power to the People!" Change ), Tues. and Thurs. Grade the assignment based on effort.
Divide students into groups of five. 3. Segregation of children of Mexican descent was rationalized for a number of reasons, a few blatantly discriminatory (“the Mexican is a menace to the health and morals of the rest of the community”[4], stated one educator) and others discriminatory but justified for “educational reasons”. … Take note of the questions to incorporate them into the discussion. This Blog is created to be a useful resource on the 1947 desegregation court case Mendez v. Westminster School District for students and faculty to learn about this very important case for American and California history. Major support provided by our founding partner, the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. Students will create a new ending for the “Crossing The Line” comic strip illustrating a peaceful resolution to the inter-group conflict utilizing King’s Six Principles of Nonviolence.
What questions did students have? Explain the next class’s activity will focus on analyzing the document paragraph by paragraph. Mendez v. Westminster School District et al, produced by Orange County Human Relations . Bring the class into a circle, and begin to go through each part of the document one by one. Most people have heard of Brown v.Board of Education, the historic 1954 Supreme Court ruling that officially ended segregation in public schools.What students usually don’t know, though, is that pre-dating Brown, there was the 1947 Mendez v.Westminster School District, a case where a Mexican-American family fought to integrate schools in California.This large research project facilitates students delving deeply into how systemic segregation was in the mid-20th century and highlights the key role Latinos have played, together with African-Americans, in the continuing battles for civil rights for all Americans.
On August 18, 2010, author Philippa Strum gave a talk about her book, Mendez v.Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights, at Busboys and Poets.The event was sponsored by the Teaching for Change Bookstore, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), The National Council of La Raza, and the United States Studies Program of the … c. Because … Mason 122, I can also meet by appointment via YouCanBook.Me. Was it difficult to read? [5] Wollenberg, Charles, “Mendez v. Westminster: Race, Nationality and Segregation in California Schools.” California Historical Quarterly 53 (1974): 317-332. Buy Tickets Contact Us Simon Wiesenthal Center, Click Here for Adjusted Hours of Operation. Assign reading for Material 2 (have students read from “When the time came for us to go to school…” on pages 3-7 “I was in all the clubs and was part of the drill team”, the beginning and end is indicated on the file). “United States District Court Summary: Mendez v. Westminster, 64 F. Supp. Opinion began to shift for a number of reasons, such as the U.S. involvement in World War I – Americans began to grow uncomfortable of the disconnect between their fight against the Nazis’ racist ideology abroad and the reality of segregation in the U.S. The following clip will help establish a framework: show Material 3 (clip of Phillipa Strum introducing Mendez v. Westminster; clip begins at 4:33 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8jU4H6cL8&t=4m33s).
Artwork by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator David Diaz and Pura Belpré Award-winning illustrator Rafael López is used with permission. ( Log Out / To broaden 11-12th grade students’ understanding of history and school desegregation, and encourage students to go beyond the history presented in school textbooks by introducing the little-known yet important Mendez v. Westminster case. Learn more about the life and legacy of civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez and her family, who spearheaded a federal lawsuit which helped end school segregation in California and pave the way for Brown v. Board of Education. ( Log Out / 2. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values. It is understood de facto segregation of schools continues to exist: for example, a recent study suggests schools were probably more segregated in the 1973 than in 1947[6]. Both of the cases dealt with the segregation of MexicanAmerican children in public schools in California and Texas. Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. However, the segregation of students of Mexican descent was not formally written into law, yet it was rampant. Sylvia Mendez speaks at the Centro for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunger College on the case; clip begins at 28:51 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQVblGpHBdU&t=28m51s28:51-31:14, 9.
Students will begin by discussing and analyzing the rationale used to justify school segregation 1940s. ( Log Out / In addition, Mexican and Mexican Americans fought in the war and began a stronger lobbying for civil rights. What are the merits and the shortcomings of the.
By the 1940s, segregation was mainly justified by a supposed need to have Mexicans “assimilate” and learn American culture, in order to perpetuate American ideals and values[5].
A public school today could be de facto segregated if it has a homogenous student body – for example, most if not all students identify as Latina/os. The Mendez case is heralded as a victory for school desegregation, and it is. Visit WETA's other education websites: Start with a Book | Reading Rockets | AdLit | LD OnLine, Web development by Boxcar Studio and Rapid Development Group, A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners, Serving and Supporting Immigrant Students, Bilingual & Dual-Language Education: Overview, Schools and Families: An Important Partnership, Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation, Mendez v. Westminster: Desegregating California's Schools, Mendez v. Westminster: Early School Desgregation, Mendez v. Westminster: Classroom Resource Text, Mendez vs. segregation: 70 years later, famed case 'isn't just about Mexicans. Students will engage with primary and second sources to learn about the Mendez v. Westminster case and its connection to the school integration movement. Accessed 28 March 2012. http://www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1508. By the 1930s, it is estimated 80% of California school districts segregated Mexican students into separate “Mexican” schools, typically run-down and sometimes located in unsafe areas (one school’s playground was situated beside an electrical fence)[3]. Transcript of Sylvia Mendez interview by Richard Heinemeyer for the Center for Oral and Public History, PDF available through City of Santa Ana Library and California State University, Fullerton: http://cms.cerritos.edu/uploads/Library/Articles/Sylvia_Mendez_by_Richard_Meinemeyer.pd, 3. Show Material 8 from 28:51 – 31:14 to end the discussion. De facto segregation manifests itself in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons, the main one being neighborhoods themselves are segregated yet the government has not focused on, say, busing programs to bus students to schools outside their neighborhoods. Framework: … Examine and analyze the key events, policies, and court cases in the evolution of civil rights, including. Excerpt from an NPR talk on de facto segregation: http://pages.pomona.edu/~tfs04747/25CH/Resources/RG1.pdf, 8. Students will discuss the material, suggested questions are listed on the excerpts. These two cases were decided by lower Federal Courts, not the Supreme Court. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. After students are done with the reading, hand out poster paper and markers and ask students to list the rationale behind school segregation throughout the years. 11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. In addition, ask each group to include one or two points on their overall reactions to the reading they were assigned. The aim is to help students integrate knowledge and critically analyze the ruling. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Sylvia Mendez, one of three children in the Mendez family, won a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.