Years before the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education found racial segregation of public schools across the United States unconstitutional, Mendez v. Westminster School District found victory for students in California. In Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, we find our protagonist Sylvia frustrated by teasing at school. She feels like she doesn’t want to return to school because the other students are mean. Her mother sits her down to remind her that a lot of people fought for her ability to get an education and encourages her to remember that.
Why did they have to fight? Flashing back three years earlier, author Duncan Tonatiuh explains how the journey began. Sylvia and her brothers were denied admission to their neighborhood school. They were told that, “Mexican children must attend the Mexican school.” Their father questioned everyone from the local principal to the superintendent and received unsatisfactory responses. It ultimately escalated to two trials where the case was argued that all children should have a right to receive a solid education and attend neighborhood schools. Racial segregation was causing students more harm than good. In both cases, Sylvia and her family were found to be in the right and won their trials against segregation is California schools! A battle that began in 1944 did not reach full resolution until 1947.
For me, the biggest takeaway from Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation is that it is always necessary to fight for one’s human rights. It may not be a quick fix, but it is certainly worth it in the end to make life better for future generations.
This book is for young readers 6-9 years old.