This series introduces the Mendez family and their fight against school segregation. It also contextualizes their story within larger themes of migration, education, and inclusion in US history. One of these connections includes Japanese incarceration during World War II. To learn more about how the Mendez family story intersects with Japanese incarceration, check out the rest of the Entangled Inequalities project.
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Article 1: Unveiling Justice: The Mendez Family's Fight for Education Equality and Lasting Legacy
In 1944, a public school in California denied entry to Sylvia, Gonzalo Jr., and Jerome Mendez based on their surname and skin color. To fight this injustice, their parents Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez worked with four other families to bring a lawsuit against the local school district. Their case, Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al., brought an end to school segregation in California and later across the nation. Read more
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Article 2: American Latino Theme Study: Struggles for Inclusion
This essay focuses on formal and informal efforts by various American Latino groups in the 19th and 20th centuries for full political and civic inclusion as citizens of the United States, including the development of Latino political activist groups, the struggle for civil rights, and the fight for full electoral rights for all citizens. Read more
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Article 3: American Latino Theme Study: Immigration
This essay explores the history of Latino immigration to the U.S. with particular emphasis on issues of citizenship and non-citizenship, political controversies over immigration policy, and the global economic context in which regional migration and immigration have occurred. Read more
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Article 4: American Latino Theme Study: Education
This essay explores the struggles for equal educational opportunities for American Latino children in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include desegregation, struggles in higher education, and parents' advocacy for educational equality. Read more