[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 25056-25057]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to engage in a colloquy 
with my friend the distinguished Senator from Colorado, Mr. Ken 
Salazar, who I have the pleasure of serving with as cochair of the 
Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force.
  As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I would like to spend a 
moment talking about the landmark 1947 discrimination case Mendez v. 
Westminster, which established the legal precedent on which Brown v. 
Board of Education was based. It is an extremely important piece of our 
civil rights history, but sadly, it is often overlooked. Senator 
Salazar and I would like to remedy that.
  Let me illustrate the importance of this case. I want you to picture 
two students, both equally bright, eager to learn, and full of 
possibility. One student sits in a beautiful new school building 
surrounded by the best books, a good heating system, and a clean 
cafeteria. The other sits in a dilapidated old shed with torn and 
tattered books that are far too old. The heat doesn't work because 
there's no furnace, and the cafeteria doesn't exist. As you all know, 
this was what occurred in towns throughout our country for far too long 
before Brown v. Board of Education 


[[Page 25057]]


ruled that separate was inherently unequal.
  Sylvia Mendez, a victim of separate but equal before Brown v. Board 
of Education, was only 8 years old when she and her brothers were 
prohibited from attending a Whites-only school in Westminster, CA, in 
Orange County. Her father, along with five other Mexican-American 
fathers whose children were forced to attend subpar, segregated 
schools, challenged school segregation in the U.S. District Court in 
Los Angeles, claiming their children were victims of unconstitutional 
discrimination. This historic court battle ultimately ended school 
segregation in California and set in motion the legal process that 
would eventually end school segregation in America.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Like my colleague Senator Bob Menendez, I believe it is 
critical to recognize the contributions that Sylvia Mendez and her 
family have made to the advancement of civil rights. The Mendez 
family's struggle for equality is a reminder to me that we must 
continue to fight for equal and quality education for all our children.
  Sadly, many young Hispanic students today attend schools that are 
lacking in resources, equipment, and highly qualified teachers. 
Nationally, Latinos are four times more likely to drop out of high 
school than their White counterparts and only 1 in 10 Latinos has 
obtained a 4-year college degree. Reforms to our education system are 
clearly needed to address these disparities and continue the legacy of 
Sylvia Menendez.
  Education is a critical pathway to realizing the American dream. It 
is what allows every child to transcend the barriers of race, class, 
background, or disability to achieve their potential to be what they 
choose in life. A wise historian once said that, ``Education is the 
means by which we exult our successes and remedy our failures and the 
process by which we transmit our civilization from one generation to 
the next.''
  We take this moment to recommit ourselves to uphold the legacy of 
Sylvia Mendez and her brothers. This is what Hispanic Heritage Month is 
all about.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. I thank Senator Ken Salazar for the work he does on the 
Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force on behalf of Latinos. My 
colleague understands, like I do, that we must not only celebrate the 
accomplishments of Latinos but turn to the future in to ensure that 
Latinos are protected by our laws and able to achieve the American 
dream. Sylvia Mendez, who has become a premier civil rights advocate 
and leader as a result of this case, is a clear example of what it 
means to achieve that dream.

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