Sign-In
Cart
Mendez V. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights
Paperback
Series: Landmark Law Cases & American Society
General EducationGeneral LawLatino Studies
ISBN13: 9780700617197
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: Apr 15 2010
Pages: 200
Weight: 0.60
Height: 0.50 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.30
Language: English
While Brown v. Board of Education remains much more famous, Mendez v. Westminster School District (1947) was actually the first case in which segregation in education was successfully challenged in federal court. Finally giving Mendez its due, Philippa Strum provides a concise and compelling account of its legal issues and legacy, while retaining its essential human face: that of Mexican Americans unwilling to accept second-class citizenship. 1945 Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, California farmers, sent their children off to the local school, only to be told that the youngsters would have to attend a separate facility reserved for Mexican Americans. In response the Mendezes and other aggrieved parents from nearby school districts went to federal court to challenge the segregation. Uniquely, they did not claim racial discrimination, since Mexicans were legally considered white, but rather discrimination based on ancestry and supposed language deficiency that denied their children their Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection under the law.
In 1945 Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, California farmers, sent their children off to the local school, only to be told that the youngsters would have to attend a separate facility reserved for Mexican Americans. In response the Mendezes and other aggrieved parents from nearby school districts went to federal court to challenge the segregation. Uniquely, they did not claim racial discrimination, since Mexicans were legally considered white, but rather discrimination based on ancestry and supposed language deficiency that denied their children their Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection under the law.
Strum tells how, thanks to attorney David Marcus's carefully crafted arguments, federal district court judge Paul McCormick came to support the plaintiffs on the grounds that the social, psychological, and pedagogical costs of segregated education were damaging to Mexican-American children. The school districts claimed that federal courts had no jurisdiction over education, but the Ninth Circuit upheld McCormick's decision, ruling that the schools' actions violated California law. The appeal to the Ninth Circuit was supported by amicus briefs from leading civil liberties organizations, including the NAACP, which a few years later would adapt the arguments of Mendez in representing the plaintiffs in Brown.
Strum effectively weaves together narrative and analysis with personality portraits to create a highly readable and accessible story, allowing us to hear the voices of all the protagonists. She also presents the issues evenhandedly, effectively balancing her presentation of arguments by both the plaintiffs and the schools that sought to continue the segregation of Mexican-American students.
Ultimately, Mendez highlights how Mexican Americans took the lead to secure their civil rights and demonstrates how organization, courage, and persistence in the Mexican-American communities could overcome the racism of the school boards. Their inspiring example is particularly timely given the current controversies over immigration and the growing national interest in Latino life.
Also in
General Law
Before All Is Said and Done: Practical Advice on Living and Dying Well
Watson, Suzanne
Miles, Pat
Hardcover
Boy with a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner's Fight for Justice
Trounstine, Jean
Paperback
With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful
Greenwald, Glenn
Hardcover
The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Murray, Melissa
Hardcover
Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court
Isgur, Sarah
Hardcover
North Carolina Notary Public Manual, 2016
Secretary of State, Nc Department
North Carolina Department of the
Secretary of State
Hardcover
Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment, and Extraordinary Survival
Van Der Leun, Justine
Hardcover
Discovering the Club: Piecing Together the Puzzling Network of Parental Pimping, Ritualistic Abuse, and Sex Trafficking
Clack, Cynthia L.
Paperback
Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions: Get the Most Out of Your Retirement and Medical Benefits
Matthews, Joseph
Paperback
The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America
Galvin Almanza, Emily
Hardcover
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability: Getting & Keeping Your Benefits
Morton III, David A.
Paperback
Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial That Changed Legal History
Cohen, Adam
Hardcover
Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation
Williams, Elliot
Hardcover
Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution
Maddow, Rachel
Hardcover
The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life
Cordalis, Amy Bowers
Hardcover
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; 2026 Edition: With Statutory Supplement
Michigan Legal Publishing Ltd
Paperback
Our Minds Were Always Free: A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited--And the Fight to Retake Control
Davis, Lisa E.
Hardcover
The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System
Bergman, Paul
Berman, Sara J.
Paperback
So Ordered: An Originalist's View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country
Alito, Samuel A., Jr.
Hardcover
The Pain Brokers: How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America's Lawsuit Factory
Chamblee Burch, Elizabeth
Hardcover
Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance
Ferguson, Andrew Guthrie
Hardcover
Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida
King, Gilbert
Hardcover
Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement
Canellos, Peter S.
Hardcover
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief, 3rd Edition
Robert, Henry M., III
Honemann, Daniel H.
Balch, Thomas J.
Paperback
The Public Domain: Find and Use Free Content for Your Website, Book, App, Music, Video, Art, and More
Secor, Glen
Paperback
Searching for Jane Crow: Black Women and Mass Incarceration in America from the Auction Block to the Cell Block
Leflouria, Talitha L.
Hardcover
The Trustee's Legal Companion: A Step-By-Step Guide to Administering a Living Trust
Hanks, Liza
Zolla, Carol Elias
Buckley, Shaila
Paperback
When Companies Run the Courts: How Forced Arbitration Became America's Secret Justice System
Ballou, Brendan
Hardcover
Dig Me a Grave: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Who Seduced the South
Assael, Shaun
Harpootlian, Richard A.
Hardcover
One in Five: Why Child Sexual Abuse Is Our Biggest Public Health Crisis--And What We Can Do to Stop It
Letourneau, Elizabeth J.
Malone, Luke
Hardcover
Oops...That's Illegal!: A Handbook for the Wildly Curious (and the Accidental Outlaw)
Mandell, Mike
Hardcover
38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia
Sands, Philippe
Hardcover
Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People
Renan, Daphna
Bowie, Nikolas
Hardcover
Iras, 401(k)S & Other Retirement Plans: Strategies for Taking Your Money Out
Slesnick, Twila
Shea, Tracy
Paperback
Is the Government Legally Killing Us?: Is the Evidence Obvious? How Fear of Death and the Illusion of Freedom Turn Us Into Accomplices to Evil
(Scott Schara), Grace's Dad
Paperback
Represent Yourself in Court: Prepare & Try a Winning Civil Case
Bergman, Paul
Berman, Sara J.
Paperback
Understanding Living Trusts(R): How You Can Avoid Probate, Keep Control, Save Taxes, and Enjoy Peace of Mind
Schumacher, Vickie
Paperback
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Litman, Leah
Paperback
The Constitution Cannot Save Us: Why We Can No Longer Rely on Our Founding Document
Seidman, Louis Michael
Hardcover
Federal Rules of Evidence; 2026 Edition (Casebook Supplement): With Advisory Committee notes, Rule 502 explanatory note, internal cross-references, qu
Michigan Legal Publishing Ltd
Paperback
Getting Permission: Using & Licensing Copyright-Protected Materials Online & Off
Stim, Richard
Paperback
The Constitution of the United States of America: The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights
Founding Fathers
Paperback
Federal Rules of Evidence; 2026 Edition: With Internal Cross-References
Michigan Legal Publishing Ltd
Paperback
The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History
Prakash, Saikrishna Bangalore
Hardcover
Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison
Tyler, Gary
Hardcover
Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity
Beety, Valena
Hardcover
The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings (Deluxe Leatherbound Edition)
Editors of Canterbury Classics
Hardcover
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Litman, Leah
Hardcover
J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2026: Your Complete Guide to a Better Bottom Line
Weltman, Barbara
Paperback
The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to JonBenet Ramsey, the Fbi's Legendary Mindhunter Sheds Light on the Mysteries That Won't Go Away
Douglas, John E.
Olshaker, Mark
Paperback
The U.S. Constitution - Anti-Federalist Edition
Henry, Patrick
Convention, Constitutional
Adams, Samuel
Paperback
No Loose Ends: The Smart & Slightly Morbid Guide to Estate Planning & End-Of-Life Tasks
Zuckerman, Adam
Hardcover
Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child's Financial Future
Urbatsch, Kevin
Farinas Jones, Jessica
Paperback
The Only Living Trusts Estate Planning Guide: Protect Your Assets, Avoid Probate, Slash Taxes and Secure Your Heirs' Future.
Sterling, Thayer
Paperback
Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science
Jefferson, Jon
Bass, Bill
Paperback
Fireproof: A Five-Step Model to Take Your Law Firm from Unpredictable to Wildly Profitable
Morse, Mike
Nachazel, John
Hardcover
Every Californian's Guide to Estate Planning: Wills, Trust & Everything Else
Hanks, Liza W.
Paperback
The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education
Driver, Justin
Paperback
55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays, 2nd Edition: With Analysis by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson
Staff of the Harvard Crimson
Paperback
Contempt of Court: The Turn-Of-The-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism
Curriden, Mark
Phillips, Leroy
Paperback
Solve Your Money Troubles: Strategies to Get Out of Debt and Stay That Way
O'Neill, Cara
Loftsgordon, Amy
Paperback
Dealing with Problem Employees: How to Manage Performance & Personal Issues in the Workplace
Nolo, The Editors of
Paperback
Campus Speech and Academic Freedom: A Guide for Difficult Times
Chemerinsky, Erwin
Gillman, Howard
Hardcover
Little Book of Restorative Justice & Community: Reclaiming Connection and Responsibility for Our Neighbors
Wilson, Sheryl
Morneau, Caitlin
Paperback
The Trump Indictments: The 91 Criminal Counts Against the Former President of the United States
Velshi, Ali
Paperback
Hitler's American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law
Whitman, James Q.
Paperback
Reclaiming the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control--And How We Can Take It Back
Sylvain, Olivier
Paperback
The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and Us Social Transformation
Davis, Fania E.
Paperback
Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota's Most Infamous Cold Case
Raguse, Lou
Paperback