TITLE: Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez &
Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
AUTHOR: Duncan Tonatiuh
PUBLISHER: Abrams
Books for Young Readers
COPYRIGHT DATE: 2014
AGE RANGE: 6-9
years
LEXILE LEVEL: AD 870L
ACCELERATED READER:
SUMMARY:
In 1944, Sylvia Mendez (1936- ) lived in California with her
mother and father and two younger brothers. Her father had come from
Mexico and had become an American citizen. Her mother was born in Puerto
Rico, which was a U.S. territory. Sylvia and her brothers were born in America.
Their family had recently moved to Westminster, California, and the children
needed to be enrolled in school. When they tried to enroll in the local
public school, they were told that the children could not attend that
school. They had to go to the “Mexican school”. When her father
asked “Why?”, he was never given a real answer. People would simply say,
“Rules are rules.”
Sylvia’s parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, did not want their children to
go to an inferior school. They wanted their children to have all of the
same opportunities that other children had. They decided to fight for
that right. They hired a lawyer and the case went to court. The ruling of
the Mendez v. Westminster School District case said that, “All children in California were
allowed to go to school together, regardless of race, ethnicity, or language”.
REVIEW:
Kirkus gave it a
starred review and named it “One of the Best Books of 2014,” stating, “Tonatiuh
masterfully combines text and folk-inspired art to add an important piece to
the mosaic of U.S. civil rights history. The universality of parents’ desires
for better opportunities for their children is made plain. The extensive
author’s note provides context, and readers can connect with the real people in
the story through photographs of Sylvia, her parents and the schools in
question. Helpful backmatter includes a glossary, bibliography and index. Even
the sourcing of dialogue is explained.” (Kirkus, 2014)
AWARDS:
2015 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book
2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
RELATED MATERIAL:
The Mendez v. Westminster School District (1947) trial ended segregation in California
schools seven years before Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ended segregation in schools across America. Earl Warren
played a key role in both cases. He was the governor of California who
signed the law of desegregation of California schools after the Mendez v. Westminster trial. He was also the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court during the Brown v. Board of
Education trial. Thurgood
Marshall was a friend-of-the-court stating a case for desegregation in the Mendez case. He was the lawyer fighting for desegregation in the Brown case.
For more information
on Thurgood Marshall:
Thurgood Marshall: Civil Rights attorney and Supreme Court Justice
by Mark Rowh (2002).
Thurgood Marshall by Lisa Aldred (1990).
For more information on Brown v. Board of Education,
Brown v. Board of Education: the Battle for Equal Education by Barbara A. Somervill (2004).
Linda Brown, You are Not Alone: the Brown v. Board of Education Decision: a collection (2003)
REFERENCES:
Kirkus Review. (2014,
June 1). Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. Retrieved
from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/duncan-tonatiuh/separate-is-never-equal/
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