Sylvia Mendez holds a pair of books in her arms. Text, history makers.

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History Makers: Sylvia Mendez

Her family helped in the battle for equal education.

October 5, 2020
By Chrisanne Grisé

Every day, 8-year-old Sylvia Mendez and her friends got off the school bus in front of 17th Street Elementary School. It was 1944 in Westminster, California. The large, clean building had plenty of room for its students. It even had a playground.

“It had swings, monkey bars, a teeter-totter,” Sylvia, who is now 84, recalls.

But only white kids went there. Sylvia wasn’t allowed in because she was Mexican American. She had to walk down the street to Hoover Elementary. It was small, run-down, and overcrowded. There was no playground, only a dirt lot.

Sylvia’s family and her community spoke out against this unfairness in order to end school segregation.

Separate Schools

In the 1910s, Mexican people moved to California in large numbers to get jobs. But many white people didn’t want them in their towns. For example, restaurant owners put up signs that said, “No dogs or Mexicans allowed.”

Sylvia’s father was born in Mexico, but Sylvia and her siblings were born in the U.S. In 1944, her family tried to enroll Sylvia in 17th Street Elementary School. When they were turned away, her father talked to the principal.

“He was told, ‘No, we don’t allow Mexicans,’” says Sylvia. 

Fighting for Equality

Here are some major moments in the fight for equal education in the U.S.

1954

In the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court rules to end segregation in public schools.

Illustrations by Ario Murti

1957

In Arkansas, U.S. troops prevent Black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, from entering Central High School for three weeks.

Illustrations by Ario Murti

1960

Ruby Bridges becomes the first Black student at an all-white school in Louisiana. Angry white parents take their kids out of her class.

Illustrations by Ario Murti

A Legal Battle

Sylvia’s family and other Mexican American parents wouldn’t stand for it. They wanted their kids to have the same opportunities as white kids. The whites-only school offered a better education.

In 1945, the Mendez family joined four other Mexican American families and sued the school district. They won the case, which ended segregation in four school districts in California. Eventually, other lawsuits would force the rest of the country to do the same.

We're All Equal

In 1947, Sylvia and other Mexican American kids were allowed to attend 17th Street Elementary. On her first day, one classmate wasn’t welcoming.

“Ew, Mexicans don’t belong here,” Sylvia recalls the boy saying. She burst into tears and didn’t want to return to school. But her mother reminded Sylvia of something important.

“She said, ‘Sylvia, don’t you realize what we were fighting for?’” Sylvia recalls. “‘Because we all deserve equality.’”

Sylvia went back to school the next day and eventually made many new friends.

Making a Difference

Sylvia paved the way for other kids to end segregation in their schools. But, decades later, she realized that not many people knew her story. She has spent the past 20 years speaking out about it so others can see how harmful prejudice can be.

“We all deserve to have an equal education,” Sylvia says.

1. How was 17th Street Elementary School different from Hoover Elementary?

2. Summarize the section “A Legal Battle.”

3. What example from the article shows how prejudice can be harmful?

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