In March of 1945, Latino parents in Orange County, California confronted the segregation of their children into “Mexican Schools.” Gonzalo Mendez, William Guzmán, Frank Palomino, Thomas Estrada and Lorenzo Ramírez, with the help of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), sued four local school districts for segregating their children.

Outcome – In February of 1946, this landmark case ended segregation in California school districts. Governor Earl Warren signed legislation prohibiting segregation in California, giving equal rights to all students. The Mendez case foreshadowed Brown vs. Board of Education. The Mendez case included the judicious use of social science research, the application of the 14th Amendment and the involvement of Thurgood Marshall, co-author of the amicus brief filed by the NAACP (Stewart, 2003).


Stewart, A. “Mendez v. Westminster. The Right to an Equal Education, The Responsibility of the State to Provide One,” California History Day 2003 Website Contest (Los Angeles, Calif.: Consitutional Rights Foundation, 2003).

“Mendez v. Westminster, A Look at Our Latino Heritage.”
http://www.mendezvwestminster.com