# 4201 - 2007 41c Mendez v. Westminster School District
City: Santa Ana, CA
Quantity: 40,000,000
Mendez V. Westminster
Gonzalo Mendez’ determination to provide a good education for his children helped pave the way for the American civil rights movement.
In 1945, the Mendez family lived in Westminster, California, which had a segregated school system. There were two schools in Westminster: a two-room shack for Mexicans and Latinos, and 17th Street Elementary, a well-built whites-only school with a lawn and other amenities. Although their lighter-skinned cousins were admitted, the Mendez children were denied entry to the 17th Street School.
At one point, the school district offered to allow just the Mendez children to attend the school, but Gonzalo refused, as he wanted to benefit the entire Mexican community. He and his family also paid for most of the expenses for the witnesses they called in the case.
City: Santa Ana, CA
Quantity: 40,000,000
Mendez V. Westminster
Gonzalo Mendez’ determination to provide a good education for his children helped pave the way for the American civil rights movement.
In 1945, the Mendez family lived in Westminster, California, which had a segregated school system. There were two schools in Westminster: a two-room shack for Mexicans and Latinos, and 17th Street Elementary, a well-built whites-only school with a lawn and other amenities. Although their lighter-skinned cousins were admitted, the Mendez children were denied entry to the 17th Street School.
At one point, the school district offered to allow just the Mendez children to attend the school, but Gonzalo refused, as he wanted to benefit the entire Mexican community. He and his family also paid for most of the expenses for the witnesses they called in the case.