School Segregation

By: Ariana Carter and Gabrielle Cruz

Mendez v. Westminster
The
the judge fr
c
o
sho ase ba m the
u
d
s
the ld get t ically s istrict c
sam
h
a
o
e ed e same id that urt who
m
uca
tion educat exican oversa
io
w
prov
c
ided n as wh hildren
i
in p
ublic tes, and
scho
ols.

Background
This was a federal court case that challenged
racial segregation between whites and
mexicans in California schools.

How the case developed over time.

- Sylvia Mendez was the daughter of Gonzalo
Mendez, the person who fought to get his kids
into an all white school in California .
- They took the case to a district court.
- Two months after the district court decision
Earl Warren (governor) signed a bill ending
school segregation in California.

Case development continued...

- Judge McCormick decided that the
segregation practices violated the 14th
amendment which finalized the case.
- This case led into the Brown vs Board of
Education court case.

Brown v. Board of Education.

Key People- Earl Warren

- Earl Warren was a key person in the
desegregation of schools.

- He became the 30th governor of

California and signed a law to
desegregate American schools.

Key People- Gonzalo Mendez

- Gonzalo Mendez is a key person in the Mendez
v. Westminster case.
- He and his wife pushed for desegregation of
schools so his children would be able to attend
an all white school.

Key Events.
- An important key event would be the Mendez v. Westminster case
itself.
- Another important event would be the Brown v. Board of education.
- The fact that they were able to desegregate schools in California.
- How that case was able to lead into the brown vs board of
education case through this one.

Key Changes
-Segregation stopped in California schools.
-There was no more just white schools.

Westminster vs Mendez video.

What still needs to happen.

We feel that because segregation is still happening, society needs to keep
fighting to stop it from happening. We also feel like society has done an OK job
with fighting against racial segregation especially in schools. We can't really
say much more because we don't fully know what's going on in the states that
still have segregation in schools.
A report (from usatoday.com) shows that hispanics still live in areas of lower
education and tend to segregate within neighborhoods as well as schools.
Therefore, segregation needs to come to an end overall.

Thank you!