Answer of Westminster School District of Orange County
5/5/1945
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:
Add only page 3 to activity:
Add only page 4 to activity:
Westminster School District in Orange County, CA, provided this answer to the petition filed by the Mendez family and others requesting an injunction against the segregation of children of "Mexican or Latin" ancestry into separate schools.
In the Fall of 1944, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez tried to enroll their children in the Main Street School in Orange County, California, which Gonzalo had attended as a child. However, the school district had redrawn boundary lines that excluded Mexican neighborhoods. The Mendez children were assigned to Hoover Elementary School, which was established for Mexican children.
Other Orange County Latino parents faced similar situations with their children. With the help of the United Latin American Citizens (LUCAC), they joined with the Mendez family and sued four local school districts – Westminster, Garden Grove, and El Modeno School Districts and the City of Santa Ana – for segregating their children and 5,000 others. The landmark case came to be known as Mendez v. Westminster School District.
The petition from the parents stated that the schools were violating students' civil rights by segregating them in separate schools. In this document, Westminster School District claimed that the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, that the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, and that it was in the best interest of all students if students of Mexican or Latin descent were taught at separate schools because a large number of them were "unfamiliar with and unable to speak the English language."
David Marcus, the attorney for Mendez, called in expert social scientists as witnesses to address the stereotypes presented by the school districts. He had 14-year-old Carol Torres take the stand to counter claims that Mexican children did not speak English. Felicitas Mendez gave testimony about her family life: "We always tell our children they are Americans." Marcus also challenged the constitutionality of education segregation based on the 14th Amendment.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. McCormick concurred with the petitioners, issuing an injunction against the school districts' segregation policies. He stated that there was no justification in the laws of California to segregate Mexican children and that doing so was a "clear denial of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment."
The school districts filed an appeal, partly on the basis of a states' rights strategy. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court upheld the District Court ruling in 1947, and the Orange County school districts dropped the case.
Mendez v. Westminster School District landed an important blow to school segregation in California. And it underscored that the struggle for civil rights in America crossed regional, racial, and ethnic lines. Amicus curiae briefs were filed in this case by the NAACP (coauthored by Thurgood Marshall) and several other civil rights organizations, including the American Jewish Congress, the ACLU, the Japanese American League and the National Lawyers Guild. The case resulted in the California legislature passing the Anderson bill, a measure that repealed all California school codes mandating segregation. The bill was signed by Governor Earl Warren.
In the Fall of 1944, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez tried to enroll their children in the Main Street School in Orange County, California, which Gonzalo had attended as a child. However, the school district had redrawn boundary lines that excluded Mexican neighborhoods. The Mendez children were assigned to Hoover Elementary School, which was established for Mexican children.
Other Orange County Latino parents faced similar situations with their children. With the help of the United Latin American Citizens (LUCAC), they joined with the Mendez family and sued four local school districts – Westminster, Garden Grove, and El Modeno School Districts and the City of Santa Ana – for segregating their children and 5,000 others. The landmark case came to be known as Mendez v. Westminster School District.
The petition from the parents stated that the schools were violating students' civil rights by segregating them in separate schools. In this document, Westminster School District claimed that the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, that the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, and that it was in the best interest of all students if students of Mexican or Latin descent were taught at separate schools because a large number of them were "unfamiliar with and unable to speak the English language."
David Marcus, the attorney for Mendez, called in expert social scientists as witnesses to address the stereotypes presented by the school districts. He had 14-year-old Carol Torres take the stand to counter claims that Mexican children did not speak English. Felicitas Mendez gave testimony about her family life: "We always tell our children they are Americans." Marcus also challenged the constitutionality of education segregation based on the 14th Amendment.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. McCormick concurred with the petitioners, issuing an injunction against the school districts' segregation policies. He stated that there was no justification in the laws of California to segregate Mexican children and that doing so was a "clear denial of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment."
The school districts filed an appeal, partly on the basis of a states' rights strategy. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court upheld the District Court ruling in 1947, and the Orange County school districts dropped the case.
Mendez v. Westminster School District landed an important blow to school segregation in California. And it underscored that the struggle for civil rights in America crossed regional, racial, and ethnic lines. Amicus curiae briefs were filed in this case by the NAACP (coauthored by Thurgood Marshall) and several other civil rights organizations, including the American Jewish Congress, the ACLU, the Japanese American League and the National Lawyers Guild. The case resulted in the California legislature passing the Anderson bill, a measure that repealed all California school codes mandating segregation. The bill was signed by Governor Earl Warren.
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 294941
Full Citation: Answer of Westminster School District of Orange County; 5/5/1945; Civil Case File 4292; Gonzalo Mendez et al v. Westminster School District of Orange County et al, 3/2/1945 - 7/18/1947; Civil Case Files, 1938 - 1995; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Riverside, Perris, CA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/answer-westminster-school-district, March 23, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
