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Mendez V Westminster Case Study

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Title: Mendez v. Westminster (1946) Abstract: The Mendez v. Westminster (1946) was the stepping stone to ending school segregation in California. The lawsuit was led by Gonzalo Mendez and five other parents who were denied enrollment of their children in an Anglo school. This led them to protest and then file a class-action lawsuit against the Westminster School District of Orange County California. Accusing them of segregating Mexican and Latin decent students. With the help attorney Dave Marcus, the plaintiffs were able to prove segregation in schools by using social and educational theories conducted by social scientist. District Court Judge Paul McCormick ruled in Mendez favor confirming California school districts were segregating students by their skin color and surnames. He held that public school segregation was a violation …show more content…

Board of Education that ended school segregation. Mendez led the path to ending school segregation and white privilege in the education system. Case Study: In the legal case Mendez v. Westminster (1946) a group of parents filed a class-action lawsuit against the Westminster School District of Orange County. But before discussing this case, it is important to understand the roots of Mexican American school segregation. Segregation of Mexican Americans from the dominant Anglo race has been around for many years. Since the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Mexican Americans have been treated like a second-class race facing racism and segregation. As a result, segregation in the education system affected Mexican American children. An increasing number of Mexican Americans across California led to an increase of Mexican children enrolling in schools. Author David James Gonzales (2017), explores the degrading school facilities Mexican students were assigned to. The city of Westminster had its own segregated schools: Westminster Grammar (Anglo school) and Hoover Elementary (Mexican school). Hoover Elementary

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