Testimony of Isabel Ayala in Mendez v. Westminster
7/11/1945
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In the Fall of 1944, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez tried to enroll their children in the Main Street School in Orange County, California. However, the school district had drawn 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.
This document includes testimony from Isabel Ayala, an 18 year old resident of Garden Grove, California. In her testimony, she discusses a conversation she had with James L. Kent, the Superintendent of the Garden Grove School district related to Mexican children having to attend Hoover School.
Ultimately, 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.
Select pages of this document are shown here. See the entire document in the National Archives online catalog.
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.
This document includes testimony from Isabel Ayala, an 18 year old resident of Garden Grove, California. In her testimony, she discusses a conversation she had with James L. Kent, the Superintendent of the Garden Grove School district related to Mexican children having to attend Hoover School.
Ultimately, 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.
Select pages of this document are shown here. See the entire document in the National Archives online catalog.
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 6277739
Full Citation: Testimony of Isabel Ayala in Mendez v. Westminster; 7/11/1945; 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://docsteach.org/documents/document/testimony-isabel-ayala-mendez-v-westminster, April 28, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.