'We Always Tell Our Children They are Americans': Mendez V. Westminster and the Beginning of the End of School Segregation
Journal of Supreme Court History, 2014
22 Pages Posted: 24 Feb 2016
Date Written: May 3, 2014
Abstract
Mendez v. Westminster, decided in 1946, was the first case in which a federal court declared "separate but equal" to be unequal. Although the NAACP was not involved at the trial level, the brief it submitted on appeal became its practice brief for Brown v. Board of Education. The case led to integration of Mexican-American children in schools throughout California and the southwest.
Keywords: school desegregation, Mexican-Americans, integration, NAACP, Brown v. Board of Education
JEL Classification: Z00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Strum, Philippa, 'We Always Tell Our Children They are Americans': Mendez V. Westminster and the Beginning of the End of School Segregation (May 3, 2014). Journal of Supreme Court History, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2736427
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