This exhibit known as "A Class Act" is sponsored by the Museum of Teaching and Learning. Postal Service unveiled a stamp commemorating the Mendez v. Westminster case. Sylvia Mendez is a member of the exhibit planning committee along with her brother, Gonzalo.

Mendez v. Westminster set a crucial precedent for ending segregation in the United States. Thus, in 1943, when she was only eight years old, their daughter Sylvia Mendez accompanied her aunt Sally Vidaurri, her brothers and cousins to enroll at the 17th Street Elementary School. 6 – Brooklyn College - Honorary Degrees To Be Awarded at The College's Annual Commencement Ceremonies on May 30 and May 31, 2012", "Historic lawsuit regains public notice: Hundreds turn out to discuss the O.C. Sylvia Mendez is a well known Activist. As a young child, she attended a school for Hispanic children. [6], Mendez's father Gonzalo and his wife Felicitas took on the task of leading a community battle that changed California, and set an important legal precedent for ending segregation in the United States. Méndez may refer to: This article is about the surname. It will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the WIKI 2 technology. of Orange County et al. Several organizations joined the appellate case as amicus curiae, including the ACLU, American Jewish Congress, Japanese American Citizens League, and the NAACP which was represented by Thurgood Marshall.

Congratulations on this excellent venture… what a great idea! Her white peers called her names and treated her poorly. She travels and gives lectures to educate others on the historic contributions made by her parents and the co-plaintiffs to the desegregation effort in the United States. More than a year later, on April 14, 1947, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling in favor of the Mexican-American families. On September 9, 2009 a second school opened in the Los Angeles community of Boyle Heights bearing the name "Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center." Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. On September 9, 2009, a second namesake school opened in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The success of the Mendez v. Westminster case made California the first state in the nation to end segregation in school. In 1998, the district of Santa Ana, California honored the Mendez family by naming a new school the "Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School". In September 2011, an exhibit honoring the Mendez v. Westminster case was presented at the Old Courthouse Museum in Santa Ana. [10], Mendez's children were finally allowed to attend the 17th Street Elementary school, thus becoming one of the first Hispanics to attend an all-white school in California. of Orange County et al. [15], On April 14, 2007, the U.S. Sandra Robbie wrote and produced the documentary Mendez v. Westminster: For all the Children / Para Todos los Ninos, which debuted on KOCE-TV in Orange County on September 24, 2002 as part of their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. More than a year later, on April 14, 1947, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling in Mendez v. Westminster in favor of the Mexican families. Mendez's three children, Sylvia, Gonzalo Jr. and Jerome Mendez, attended Hoover Elementary, a two-room wooden shack in the middle of the city's Mexican neighborhood, along with the other Hispanics. Felicitas Gómez Martínez de Mendez (February 5, 1916 – April 12, 1998) was a Puerto Rican activist in the American civil rights movement. [7], Realizing that the 17th Street Elementary school provided better books and educational benefits, Mendez and her husband Gonzalo decided that they would like to have their children and nephews enrolled there. The documentary, which also aired on PBS, won an Emmy award and a Golden Mike Award. More than a year later, on April 14, 1947, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling in favor of the Mexican-American families. Ms. Mendez spent the day with our students, many of whom read about her story in class, and were able to ask her questions about her life. Thurgood Marshall, who would later be appointed a U.S. Supreme Court justice in 1967, became the lead NAACP attorney in the 1954 Brown case. Mendez tended the family's agricultural business, giving her husband the much-needed time to meet with community leaders to discuss the injustices of the segregated school system. After the Mendez court case, Sylvia attended the desegregated Westminster elementary school.

Sylvia Mendez Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Sylvia Mendez (born 1936) is an American civil rights activist of Mexican-Puerto Rican heritage.At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the Mendez v. Westminster case, the landmark desegregation case of 1946.

To install click the Add extension button. Daughter. The exhibit features photos from both the Mendez and Brown cases, in addition to original documents. [13][14] Mendez was born in 1936 in Santa Ana, California. School officials reserved it for non-Hispanic white students and required Mexican American children such as Mendez to go to a different school. At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the Mendez v.Westminster case, the landmark desegregation case of 1946. v. Mendez et al., Ninth Circuit opinion", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felicitas_Méndez&oldid=980104850, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Success in ending California school segregation.

[1][2], Mendez (birth name: Felicita Gómez) was born in the town of Juncos in Puerto Rico. In 1998, the district of Santa Ana, California honored the Mendez family by naming a new school the "Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School".

The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. The school is a Spanish-English two-way immersion school. They opened a bar and grill called La Prieta in Santa Ana. Four sons: Victor, Gonzalo, Jerome and Phillip; two daughters, This page was last edited on 24 September 2020, at 16:55. Mendez and her husband Gonzalo took upon themselves the task of leading a community battle which would change the California public education system, and set an important legal precedent for ending segregation in the United States. We have created a browser extension. In 1946, Mendez and her husband Gonzalo led an educational civil rights battle that changed California and set an important legal precedent for ending de jure segregation in the United States. Mendez v. Westminster: For all the Children / Para Todos los Ninos, List of Puerto Rican Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, "Mendez case paved way for Brown v. Board", "Mendez v. Westminster: Landmark Latino history finally to be told on PBS", "Mendez v. Westminster, A Look At Our Latino Heritage", Los Angeles Times; Felicitas Mendez; Filed Key School Desegregation Suit, "50 years after Brown: Latinos paved way for historic school desegregation", "Chapman University Commemorates Mendez v. Westminster 60th Anniversary & U.S. Postage Stamp Unveiling", "Chapman Commemorates 60th Anniversary of Mendez v. Westminster Case on April 14", "O.C. civil rights icon Mendez awarded Medal of Freedom", http://www.berkeleyside.com/2018/05/24/leconte-elementary-renamed-for-sylvia-mendez-desegregation-pioneer, Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation, "Historic lawsuit regains public notice: Hundreds turn out to discuss the O.C. Initially, Gonzalo received little support from the local Latino organizations – but finally, on March 2, 1945, he and four other Mexican-American fathers from the Gomez, Palomino, Estrada, and Ramirez families filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles against four Orange County school districts – Westminster, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and El Modena (now eastern Orange) – on behalf of about 5,000 Hispanic-American schoolchildren. Thurgood Marshall, who would later be appointed a U.S. Supreme Court justice in 1967, became the lead NAACP attorney in the 1954 Brown case. [4], In the 1940s, there were only two schools in Westminster: Hoover Elementary and 17th Street Elementary. She travels and lectures on the historic contributions of her parents and their co-plaintiffs to desegregate the United States. From Wikipedia: “Sylvia Mendez (born June 7, 1936) is an American civil rights activist of Mexican-Puerto Rican heritage.

However, the situation was not easy for their daughter Sylvia. Mendez's three children, Sylvia, Gonzalo Jr. and Jerome Mendez, attended Hoover Elementary, a two-room wooden shack in the middle of the city's Mexican neighborhood, along with the other Hispanics. The Mendez case also deeply influenced the thinking of the California governor at the time, Earl Warren. 6 – Brooklyn College - Honorary Degrees To Be Awarded at The College's Annual Commencement Ceremonies on May 30 and May 31, 2012", "Historic lawsuit regains public notice: Hundreds turn out to discuss the O.C. 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.

Sylvia Mendez (born 1936) is an American civil rights activist of Mexican-Puerto Rican heritage.

The documentary, which also aired on PBS, won an Emmy award and a Golden Mike Award.

The case successfully ended de jure segregation in California and paved the way for integration and the American civil rights movement.