Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children
Encyclopedia
Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Niños is a 2003 American
documentary film
written, directed, and produced by Sandra Robbie. The film features Sylvia Mendez
, Robert L. Carter, and others.
named Gonzalo Mendez moved his family to the predominantly white Westminster
district in Orange County
and his children were denied admission to the public school on Seventeenth Street. The Mendez family move was prompted by the opportunity to lease a 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) farm in Westminster from the Munemitsus, a Japanese family who had been relocated to a Japan
ese internment camp during World War II
. The income the Mendez family earned from the farm enabled them to hire attorney David Marcus and pursue litigation.
In 1945, the plaintiffs of Mendez, Palomino, Estrada, Guzman and Ramirez filed a class action
lawsuit
on behalf of 5,000 Mexican American
children to integrate the schools in four Orange County
school districts: Westminster
, El Modena
, Santa Ana
, and Garden Grove
.
the first state in the nation to end school segregation – seven years before Brown v. Board of Education
. NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall
and then-California Governor Earl Warren
played key roles in both cases.
Unlike Plessy v. Ferguson
(1896), which focused on racial discrimination and upheld the constitutionality of segregation based on race in public accommodations under the doctrine of "separate but equal," the plaintiffs in Mendez v. Westminster argued that the students were segregated into separate schools based solely on their national origin.
The U.S. Postal Service commemorated the Mendez case on a postage stamp in September 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written, directed, and produced by Sandra Robbie. The film features Sylvia Mendez
Sylvia Mendez
Sylvia Mendez 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. The case successfully ended de jure segregation in California...
, Robert L. Carter, and others.
Synopsis
In the mid-1940s, a tenant farmerTenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
named Gonzalo Mendez moved his family to the predominantly white Westminster
Westminster, California
-Government:In the state legislature Westminster is located in the 34th, Senate District, represented by Democrat Lou Correa and Republican Tom Harman respectively, and in the 67th and 68th Assembly District, represented by Republicans Jim Silva and Van Tran respectively...
district in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
and his children were denied admission to the public school on Seventeenth Street. The Mendez family move was prompted by the opportunity to lease a 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) farm in Westminster from the Munemitsus, a Japanese family who had been relocated to a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese internment camp during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The income the Mendez family earned from the farm enabled them to hire attorney David Marcus and pursue litigation.
In 1945, the plaintiffs of Mendez, Palomino, Estrada, Guzman and Ramirez filed a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
on behalf of 5,000 Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
children to integrate the schools in four Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
school districts: Westminster
Westminster, California
-Government:In the state legislature Westminster is located in the 34th, Senate District, represented by Democrat Lou Correa and Republican Tom Harman respectively, and in the 67th and 68th Assembly District, represented by Republicans Jim Silva and Van Tran respectively...
, El Modena
El Modena, California
El Modena is an area around El Modena High School in the city of Orange, California. It is located near and east of the intersection of Hewes Street and Chapman Avenue...
, Santa Ana
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
, and Garden Grove
Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
.
Background
Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Niños discusses the little-known Orange County case that made CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
the first state in the nation to end school segregation – seven years before Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
. NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
and then-California Governor Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
played key roles in both cases.
Unlike Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses , under the doctrine of "separate but equal".The decision was handed...
(1896), which focused on racial discrimination and upheld the constitutionality of segregation based on race in public accommodations under the doctrine of "separate but equal," the plaintiffs in Mendez v. Westminster argued that the students were segregated into separate schools based solely on their national origin.
The U.S. Postal Service commemorated the Mendez case on a postage stamp in September 2007.
Interviews
- Sylvia MendezSylvia MendezSylvia Mendez 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. The case successfully ended de jure segregation in California...
- Sandra Mendez Duran
- Robert L. Carter
- Aki Munemitsu Nakauchi
- Gilbert Gonzalez, Professor, University of California, IrvineUniversity of California, IrvineThe University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
- Christopher Arriola, President, California La Raza Lawyers Association
- Ruth Barrios
- Genevieve Barrios Southgate, daughter of Cruz Barrios
- Ralph Perez, El Modena parent
- Lloyd Jones, Assistant Superintendent, Garden Grove Unified School DistrictGarden Grove Unified School DistrictThe Garden Grove Unified School District is the third largest school district in Orange County, and the twelfth largest in the State of California...
(retired) - Jerome Mendez
- Janice Munemitsu
- Frederick P. Aguirre, Superior CourtSuperior courtIn common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
, Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County... - Felicitas Mendez
External links
- Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Niños review at the Orange County Register by Erica Perez
- Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Niños at KOCE-TVKOCE-TVKOCE-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public televisionstation, and is the primary PBS member for Los Angeles and Southern California. KOCE also features programming focused on the communities of Orange County, California. It airs Orange County's only nightly newscast, Real Orange, with...
, PBS, Orange County, Calif. - Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Niños analysis at California State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
- Mendez vs. Westminster informational clip at You Tube (via California State AssemblyCalifornia State AssemblyThe California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
)