KIWI Magazine Review:

Many of us associate the policy of “separate but equal” to reflect the era before Brown vs. Board of Education where black and white students attended different schools. in 1954, the Supreme Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. About 10 years before this landmark case, students of Mexican descent could not attend white schools in California. This book details the story from a young girl’s perspective.

Publisher’s note:

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.