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This week on Uprising:

* 60th Anniversary of Mendez vs Westminster
* Black Agenda Radio on Reverend Yearwood

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60th Anniversary of Mendez vs Westminster

GUEST: Sylvia Mendez, daughter of Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez, integrated a former “White School” in Orange County as a young girl

In the fall of 1944, Gonzalo Mendez and his sister Sally Vidaurri attempted to enroll their Latino children in Westminster Elementary School in Orange County. Gonzalo Mendez, who himself had attended Westminster as a young child, was told by school officials that since his children were Mexican, they had to attend the Hoover elementary “Mexican School.” The Mendez family, alongside four other families, filed a lawsuit the following year on behalf of 5,000 Latino children against segregation policies in practice in four Orange County school districts. Sixty years ago on April 14th 1947, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco unanimously upheld a Ninth District Court decision in the case of Mendez versus the Westminster School District. The landmark ruling held that segregated schools in the four districts violated the 14th amendment of the constitution as California became the first state in the nation to end school segregation. Following the ninth district ruling, Sylvia Mendez, daughter of Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, integrated a former “White School” after being denied enrollment as an eight year old in 1944. The court of appeals decision made sure that Sylvia Mendez would never be a legally segregated student again. The reverberations of the court ruling were felt throughout California as legally sanctioned segregationist policies against other minority communities were dismantled statewide. Seven years after the decision in Mendez vs. Westminster was upheld, Brown vs Board of Education followed suit nationally. In commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of Mendez vs. Westminster, the United States Postal Service has decided to issue a stamp in it’s honor. The stamp was released on Friday, September 14th at a special commemorative event at the Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School in Santa Ana. Sylvia Mendez continues to reside in Orange County and speaks at schools and universities across the United States about the legacy of Mendez vs. Westminster.

To learn more about the history of Mendez vs. Westminster, visit http://www.mendezvwestminster.com/ and http://sylviamendezinthemendezvswestminster.com/

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute” — Thurgood Marshall