Latinx Heritage Month 2024
September 15 marked the beginning of Latinx Heritage Month, a period during which
the nation recognizes the important contributions of people of Latinx/e heritage.
In California, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, California’s
population has become increasingly diverse, “more than half of young Californians
(52% of those 24 and under)” identifying as Latino. As we know, Latinos have made
significant contributions to the nation and to the state of California. One of these
is civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez.
Mendez and her siblings, who were of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, were the subject
of a legal case that de-segregated schools in four districts in California. This case
became the legal precedent for the 1954 landmark decision in the case, Brown v. The
Board of Education, which ruled that school segregation based on race was unconstitutional.
In the mid-1940s, Sylvia Mendez’s parents brought a lawsuit against a school in Westminster,
California, for banning Sylvia and her siblings from attending because they were visibly
Hispanic. While their lighter skinned relatives with a French surname were allowed
to attend the school, Sylvia and her siblings were denied admission.
As relayed in the biography of Sylvia Mendez,
“It wasn’t just the racial discrimination that bothered the Mendez family. The Mexican
school didn’t have the same amenities as the other and were used to Americanize the
children. The school consisted of two wooden shacks filled with second-hand books,
faulty desks and little stimulation. Mendez recalled to the Los Angeles Times how the students weren’t taught to read and write, but instead, the boys were prepped
for labor work and the girls instructed on housekeeping duties like knitting and sewing.”
Other Hispanic families joined the lawsuit, and in 1946, Judge McCormick ruled that
the schools in the four school districts named in the case could not segregate against
Hispanic families (Mendez v. Westminster). By 1947, the ban on segregation was expended
to apply to all public schools in California. Eight years later, this case would prove
significant in arguments in the case challenging segregation based on race in all
public schools in the nation (Brown v. Board of Education).
Sylvia Mendez began attending 17th Street School, the formerly all-white school in
the district, but endured significant racial bullying. With the encouragement of her
parents, she endured, furthering her education and working for 30 years as a nurse.
Through public speaking engagements and social justice activism, Ms. Mendez has worked
tirelessly to ensure that the sacrifices made by her family and other members of her
childhood community would not be forgotten. In 2011, President Obama recognized Sylvia
and the legacy of her parents by awarding her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
To learn more about Sylvia Mendez, please read her biography:
https://www.biography.com/activists/sylvia-mendez-school-segregation-fight
To learn more about the contributions of other significant Latinx leaders, please
read the 2024 tribute by Biography.Com:
https://www.biography.com/notable-hispanic-americans
Please take time this month to avail yourselves of the resources in the NVC Library
and other educational venues to learn about the important contributions of the Latinx
community.
References:
“California’s Population,” Fact Sheet, January 2024
https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-population/
23 Influential Hispanic Americans Who Have Made History
https://www.biography.com/notable-hispanic-americans
Sylvia Mendez and Her Parents Fought School Segregation Years Before 'Brown v. Board'
https://www.biography.com/activists/sylvia-mendez-school-segregation-fight
Dr. Patricia van Leeuwaarde Moonsammy
Senior Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers (Why is this here?)
patricia.moonsammy@napavalley.edu
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