The Fight for What’s Right

N1: The year is 1944.

N2: Sylvia Mendez and her family have just moved to Westminster, California.

N3: Sylvia and her brother are playing with their cousins. 

Aunt Sally: Come! We’re going to see your new school. 

N1: They arrive at Westminster School, a large brick building with a playground.

N2: They go to the main office.

Aunt Sally: I’m here to sign these children up for school.

N3: The secretary looks at Sylvia’s cousins, who have light skin and light hair.

Secretary: Those two can sign up, but not the others.

Aunt Sally: Excuse me?

N1: The secretary points at Sylvia and Jerome, who have dark skin and dark hair. 

Secretary: They have to go to the Mexican school.

Aunt Sally: But they are American. They speak English.

Secretary: That’s the rule.

Aunt Sally: There must be some mistake.

N2: The next day, Papa is mad.

Papa: I spoke to the principal. He says all Mexican kids have to go to Hoover Elementary. 

Mama: Why? 

Papa: He just kept saying, “That’s how it’s done here.”

Aunt Sally: Hoover is farther away and not a good school. 

Mama: This isn’t fair. We are American citizens. 

Aunt Sally: What can we do?

Papa: I’m not sure. But a good education is worth fighting for.

N2: Mama is getting the kids ready for school. 

Jerome: Where is Papa?

Mama: He is talking to other families about the court case.

Jerome: What’s a court case? 

Mama: We think the school system is being unfair to Mexican kids. So we are going to talk to a judge about it. 

Sylvia: If we win the case, will we get to go to the nice school?

Mama: Yes.

Jerome: What if the kids at that school don’t like us?

Sylvia: Sometimes they call us names in the park.

Mama: If they don’t like you, it’s because they don’t know you. 

N3: Jerome looks up at Mama.

Mama: That’s what prejudice is—when you decide you don’t like people for no good reason. 

Jerome: I don’t like eating vegetables. Is that prejudice? 

Mama: No, papito, prejudice is about something like people’s skin color or religion. 

N1: Sylvia thinks about this.

N2: The family goes to court. 

N3: Papa’s lawyer, Mr. Marcus, questions the head of schools. 

Mr. Marcus: Mr. Kent, do children from Mexican families have to go to Hoover Elementary? 

Mr. Kent: No. If students don’t speak English, then they go to Hoover. 

Marcus: Do you give them a test to see if they know English? 

Kent: Yes. 

Sylvia (whispering): That’s not true! They never talked to us.

Marcus: Are there other reasons you send Mexicans to a different school?

Kent: They need to learn manners. And they are dirty.

Jerome (whispering): No we aren’t!

Marcus: So if a Mexican child speaks English and is clean, could he or she attend Westminster School? 

Kent: Yes.

Marcus: How many Mexican students go to Westminster?

Kent: None.

Marcus: Out of the hundreds of children at Hoover, not one of them is qualified to go to Westminster?

Kent: They’re not as smart as the white children. 

N1: Sylvia and others gasp.

N2: The next week in court, Mr. Marcus questions an education expert. 

Marcus: Mrs. Hughes, is it helpful for Mexican children to go to a separate school? 

Mrs. Hughes: No. It sends the message that Mexicans are inferior. 

Marcus: Does going to a separate school help them learn English? 

Hughes: Not at all. The best way to learn English is to be with others who speak it. 

Marcus: Do you believe that Mexican children should go to school with white children? 

Hughes: Yes. But not just for the education. Kids need to spend time together. It helps them understand each other.

Marcus: I see.

Hughes: That’s the first step to getting rid of prejudice and discrimination. 

N3: Sylvia squeezes Mama’s hand and smiles.

N1: Sylvia went on to college and became a nurse. 

N2: Today, she travels around telling her family’s story. 

N3: They paved the way for children all over America.

Sylvia: Everyone deserves an equal chance to learn.