Many people feel like their rights aren’t being respected compared to other people.

This is true in our world today. People are treated differently whether it’s based on 

their beliefs, gender, race, etc. It’s an issue that has a lot of improving to do. 

Everyone should be treated the same no matter what. I’m going to be going over 

why some people feel like their rights aren't respected, common protests and 

patterns, and change that should happen. 

Juanita Garcia was a migratory farmworker who lived in California. Juanita packed 

sheds for a living with HER family. One day Juanita was fired because she belonged 

to The National Farm Labor Union. The National Farm Labor Union is a program 

that helps migrant workers get a job and improve their wages. After being fired, 

Juanita and her family would then move around to different farms. It was hard for 

them to find work because ranchers and companies would take over. When Janita 

moved to Imperial Valley, no one in that area was working. The government and 

different organizations would take over all the work. The people in these areas felt 

like they weren’t being treated fair and their rights weren’t being respected. In a 

different situation, ​The Méndez Case: Brown v. Board of Education for Mexican 

Americans, Americans weren’t being treated like everyone else because of the color 

of their skin. “...are now excluded from attending, using, enjoying and receiving the 

benefits of the education, health and recreation facilities of certain schools within 

their respective Districts and Systems....”(Mendez). They started denying people 

access to basic human rights. This was completely not right and unfair. These were 
American citizens. They should have access to the same rights as everyone else no 

matter their background, race, gender, religious beliefs, etc. I think Westminster 

handled the situation correctly. “In the Westminster, Garden Grove and El Modeno 

school districts the respective boards of trustees had taken official action, declaring 

that there be no segregation of pupils on a racial basis but that 

non-English-speaking children...be required to attend schools designated by the 

boards separate and apart from English-speaking pupils; that such group should 

attend such schools until they had acquired some proficiency in the English 

language” (Mendez). The Garden Grove and El Modeno school felt like everyone 

should be treated equally. They made a smart decision allowing people to go to the 

same school, share the same things, and be treated just like everyone else. That’s 

how it should be. All that these districts asked was that if a student doesn’t know 

english, that they would go to a separate school until they know enough to 

understand. That’s such a simple thing to ask of them especially compared to what 

other school districts were doing. At the same time I think it would be harder for 

them to learn english if they aren’t around it a lot. Most children who struggle with 

english, have parents that prefer or only know spanish. This makes it hard for these 

children to learn. But overall I think The Garden Grove and El Modeno handled the 

situation best. They believed segregation was wrong and wanted to make classes 

work for everyone while other schools segregated students and didn’t think all 

students should be together. “The evidence clearly shows that Spanish-speaking 

children are retarded in learning English by lack of exposure to its use because of 

segregation, and that commingling of the entire student body instills and develops 

a common cultural attitude among the school children which is imperative for the 

perpetuation of American institutions and ideals. It is also established by the record 

that the methods of segregation prevalent in the defendant school districts foster 

antagonisms in the children and suggest inferiority among them where none 

exists....” (Mendez). This evidence proves that students who are segregated struggle 

more with learning. It’s crucial for students to be treated with the same respect as 

other students and it benefits their learning in the classroom. There's only one way 

to learn a language and that’s by exposure to it. 

Because of Juanita’s situation and all the people around her, they decided to go on 

strike. “​It looks like the big companies in agriculture are running the United States” 

(Garcia, Juanita). No one in Imperial Valley was getting work. Everyone was 

suffering and they needed change. Ma​ny people got arrested and no change 

happened. Everyone in the valley felt like they didn’t have a say on anything going 

on. It was frustrating for them and they should’ve been able to work. Another 

situation where people protested for their rights was in 1961. Indian people felt like 

they weren’t able to exercise their rights like everyone else. This made the Indian 

people upset. “We believe in the inherent right of all people to retain spiritual and 

cultural values, and that the free exercise of these values is necessary to the normal 

development of any people....” (Declaration of Indian Purpose).​ ​They felt like 

everyone should be able to have their own beliefs and not be treated differently 

because of them. Everyone should be treated the same no matter their differences. 

“What we ask of America is not charity, not paternalism, even when benevolent. We 

ask only that the nature of our situation be recognized and made the basis of policy 

and action.” (Declaration of Indian Purpose).​ ​All they were asking for was to be 

recognized and worked with. They didn’t want people to feel bad for them, all they 

wanted to be treated with respect. 

I think our Country is a long way away from being perfect but I do think it’s 

improved a lot. While reading these stories I found it very interesting and 

frustrating. It was so obvious these people were being treated wrong yet it 

continued to happen. I felt like the choices made my government officials should’ve 

been looked at by others before the decisions were made and they should’ve been 

more thought out. The government taking over all the jobs in Imperial Valley wasn’t 

well thought out. It completely ruined the area. People lost everything including 

their jobs. They starved and had leaky roofs. The most money someone would make 

a week was $5. Today $5 get’s you only a few things. It’s not really enough money to 

feed you for a whole day let alone a whole family. The Indian American people 

wanted basic rights without conflict. I felt like this wasn’t a lot to ask. They wrote it 

in a document that stated their rights and typed it very kindly. They are American 

citizens, this should’ve been an easy decision. But they shouldn't have had to write 

the document in the first place. Every american citizen should have those rights no 
matter what. In The Méndez Case: Brown v. Board of Education for Mexican 

Americans, every student should be attending the same schools and sharing the 

same things. For example, they should be sharing bathrooms, drinking fountains, 

tables, etc. I think this situation was handled unprofessional. They gave an option to 

districts but I don’t think there should’ve been an option in the first place. All 

schools should’ve done what the Westminster, Garden Grove, and El Modeno 

school districts did.