Education after Mendez v. Westminster: Sylvia Mendez Video

In 1943, Gonzalo Méndez sued the Westminster School District of Orange County, California in order to end segregation in the public schools. This court case set an important legal precedent for ending segregation in the United States. Interviews Sylvia Mendez, Sandra Mendez Duran, Felicitas Mendez. Professor Gilbert Gonzalez from the University of California, Irvine is also interviewed.

In 1945 the Mendez, Guzman, Estrada, and Ramirez families led a movement to integrate Orange County elementary schools. They succeeded. FAMILIES FOR EQUALITY, a Fullerton College production, weaves together family members' memories of the Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District of Orange County et al. federal desegregation case with the first public performance of Fullerton College Faculty Librarian Erica Bennett's play EL PRIMER DIA DE CLASES. This film focuses on civil rights, educational equality, and multicultural understanding of the landmark case that set the precedent for Brown vs. Board of Education. It features many of the original family members who participated in this class action lawsuit and students from the college's Ethnic Studies Department.-