It was common practice throughout Orange County at the time. One school for the white kids, and a “Mexican school” for Mexican-American children. Of course, the Mexican schools had poorer facilities, and Gonzalo Mendez and his wife Felicitas wanted the best for their kids. So they did the American thing: fought their battle in the courts. Luckily for the Mexican-American community they had the wherewithal to do so, and it turned into a class-action suit with amicus briefs from prominent civil rights organizations. “We always tell our children they are Americans,” testified Felicitas Mendez.
