[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H4691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
     BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION ANNIVERSARY: MENDEZ V. WESTMINSTER

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor 
of the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and the 
incredible impact it had on our Nation.
  The ruling of Brown v. Board of Education ended segregation in 
schools across the United States, and it declared the doctrine 
``separate but equal'' unconstitutional. It is truly something to be 
proud of, as Americans.
  But as we celebrate, let us not forget the precedent case to that; 
and that was about a young Mexican American student who, along with her 
family and others in their community, truly set the stage in the fight 
to end segregation in all of our schools. This happened in my county, 
in my district, in my home. The case was Mendez v. Westminster.
  In 1945, when Sylvia Mendez was not allowed to go to an all-white 
school in Orange County, California, her parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas 
Mendez, fought for integration. And guess what. They won. Segregation 
in Orange County ended, and the rest of our State followed, and 7 years 
later the entire country followed.
  So as we commemorate the grand case of Brown v. Board of Education, 
let us also remember Mendez v. Westminster, two historic achievements 
that opened the doors for a better education for all our children 
throughout this great Nation.

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