California students may soon be learning about the Mendez family and their fight against segregation in the state’s public schools. The state legislature has approved a bill that would incorporate the Mendez v. Westminster case into the history and social science curriculum standards for public schools. This case, which took place in 1947, set the stage for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.
The Mendez family, including Sylvia Mendez and her brothers, were turned away from a school in Westminster and told to attend a “Mexican school” instead. Their parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, along with four other families, filed a class-action lawsuit against four Orange County school districts. Their success led to the repeal of segregation laws in California.
Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, credited the success of the bill to the testimony given by Sylvia Mendez and her sister, Sandra Mendez Duran, earlier this year. Duran shared that she only learned about her parents’ involvement in the case when she was in college.
Ta emphasized the importance of sharing the legacy of the Mendez family to inspire future generations about the fight for civil rights and justice. The bill now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature, and Ta and other Assemblymembers have urged him to sign the bill and incorporate Mendez into a bill signing ceremony. The governor has until the end of September to take action on the bill.
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