VIEWING GUIDES FOR MENDEZ v. WESTMINSTER AND DELGADO v. BASTROP ISD

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1 VIEWING GUIDES FOR MENDEZ v. WESTMINSTER AND DELGADO v. BASTROP ISD Learning Objectives: The student will 1. Answer comprehension questions while watching the videos of Mendez v Westminster and Delgado v Bastrop ISD found on the Oyez, Oyez, O Yay! website. 2. Compare the impact of these two cases on ending public school segregation in the United States. 3. Express personal opinions about key facts, the arguments, decision, and impact of these cases on American history. TEKS: US.6A; US.9A and I Materials Needed: Access to the Oyez, Oyez, O Yay! website found at (Mendez and Delgado videos and case study); copies of the viewing guide for the students. Teaching Strategy: This lesson is designed to use two of the Oyez videos. They can also be used one at a time if necessary. 1. Explain to the students that they are going to work with a partner to analyze two court cases, Mendez v Westminister and Delgado v Bastrop ISD for the role these two cases played in the struggle to end segregation in U.S. public schools. Set up the analysis by explaining the following facts: These two cases were decided by lower Federal Courts, not the Supreme Court. Both of the cases dealt with the segregation of Mexican American children in public schools in California and Texas. Neither state had laws requiring the segregation students of Hispanic heritage because of race since they were classified as Anglo. 2. Pair the students and assign one of them to watch the Mendez video and the other the Delgado video. This can be done outside of class or in a lab setting. Each student should preview the questions he/she is to answer before watching the video and filling out their respective viewing guide. 3. When the students have completed their comprehension guide, have them meet with their partner and one at a time, share the information they gathered about their respective case. 4. When both students have shared, ask them to complete the following questions together: a. What are three ways in which these two cases are similar? b. What are the most significant differences in the two cases? c. What role did these two cases play in ending segregation in public education in the United States? 5. Conduct a class discussion to allow the students to share the conclusions they have developed.

2 The Background of the Case to 1:00 Mendez v Westminster What areas of the economy had allowed California to prosper after becoming a state in 1850? 2. What role had many Mexican American citizens played in the growing California economy after it had become a state in 1850 Gonzalo Mendez 1:00 to 5:40 1. Who was Gonzalo Mendez and what had been his experience in the California school of Westminster Main? 2. Describe Mr. Mendez s life as an adult? 3. What happened when Mr. Mendez tried to enroll his three children in Westminster Main Elementary School? 4. How did Mr. Mendez and his wife react and what was his main reason for reacting in this manner? 5. What happened when his children were still refused enrollment in the Westminster schools? Stop and Think: What problems do you see with the policy of segregation as it was being carried out in the district? Question brought to the U.S. District Court: (NOTE This case was not a U.S. Supreme Court case. It was decided in the District Court and then appealed to a U.S. District Court of Appeals) 5:40 to 9:14 1. What was the question brought before the U.S. District Court with regards to this case? (Formula for issue question yes/no question; facts of the case; part of the Constitution in question) 2. What did attorney David Marcus argue?

3 3. How did the school districts answer this argument? 4. What was wrong with this assumption? Stop and Think: What is your opinion of the policy segregating Mexican American children from Anglo students being used by several of the school districts in Orange County at this time? The Ruling: 9:14 to 11:24 1. How the court rule? 2. What did Judge Paul McCormick mean when he said, [This policy had] a clear purpose to arbitrarily discriminate against pupils of Mexican ancestry Stop and Think: Do you agree or disagree with the ruling of the District Court Judge? Explain your answer. 3. How did the school districts respond to the decision? 4. How did the California legislature respond? Impact of the Case: 11:24 to the end 1. Why was this case important in the struggle to end segregation?

4 The Background of the Case to 1:00 Mendez v Westminster What areas of the economy had allowed California to prosper after becoming a state in 1850? Oil, mining, railroads, construction, and farming 2. What role had many Mexican American citizens played in the growing California economy after it had become a state in 1850? Many Mexican Americans had immigrated to California and became involved in the expanding agricultural economy of the state. Gonzalo Mendez 1:00 to 5:40 1. Who was Gonzalo Mendez and what had been his experience in the California school of Westminster Main? Mr. Mendez was a Mexican American who had come to the United States as a child and attended the Westminster Main Elementary School. He had difficulty in completing his education due to the fact he was often pulled out to work in the fields. He dropped out when he was fourteen to help support the family. 2. Describe Mr. Mendez s life as an adult? Mr. Mendez became a successful farmer and a naturalized American citizen. After marrying a woman from Puerto Rico, he settled down to raise his three children in the community of Westminster. 3. What happened when Mr. Mendez tried to enroll his three children in Westminster Main Elementary School? He was told that his children would have to attend Hoover Elementary which was an elementary school outside the Westminster district established for Mexican American children. 4. How did Mr. Mendez and his wife react and what was his main reason for reacting in this manner? He spoke with the principal and the school board trying to get his children enrolled in Westminster Main. He said that Hoover Elementary was created for Mexican American children who were learning English and his children already were fluent in English as it was their primary language. 5. What happened when his children were still refused enrollment in the Westminster schools? He traveled around the county and discovered that other school districts were segregating Mexican American children even though they spoke English. There was no law requiring the segregation of Mexican American children in California based on race at this time since they were considered Anglo. He and other Mexican American fathers decided to file a class action suit. Stop and Think: What problems do you see with the policy of segregation as it was being carried out in the district? Question brought to the U.S. District Court: (NOTE This case was not a U.S. Supreme Court case. It was decided in the District Court and then appealed to a U.S. District Court of Appeals) 5:40 to 9:14 1. What was the question brought before the U.S. District Court with regards to this case? (Formula for issue question yes/no question; facts of the case; part of the Constitution in question)

5 Did the school district s segregation policy violate California law, and in the absence of a segregation law, violate the equal protection of the laws clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? 2. What did attorney David Marcus argue? Mr. Marcus argued that since California did not have a law requiring segregation of Mexican-American children as it did for African-American, Asian, and American Indian children, this policy was based on discrimination. Discrimination was a violation of the equal protection clause of the14 th Amendment. 3. How did the school districts answer this argument? They argued that it was necessary to segregate the Mexican American children since they often missed long periods of time to help in the fields. By having a school all their own, they would not feel inferior and fall further behind. 4. What was wrong with this assumption? Not all of the Mexican American children missed time to work in the fields. Many spoke English and yet they were all lumped together with others who may have needed the extra help. Stop and Think: What is your opinion of the policy segregating Mexican American children from Anglo students being used by several of the school districts in Orange County at this time? The Ruling: 9:14 to 11:24 1. How the court rule? The court ruled that the four school districts had to cease the practice. There was no law stating that segregation of Mexican Americans was required and by practicing it, the school districts were violating the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment. 2. What did Judge Paul McCormick mean when he said, [This policy had] a clear purpose to arbitrarily discriminate against pupils of Mexican ancestry Judge McCormick noted that children of Mexican ancestry who spoke English were sent to the Hoover school. Therefore the policy was not trying to help the children catch up with English speaking students, but was meant to discriminate and the practice had to end. Stop and Think: Do you agree or disagree with the ruling of the District Court Judge? Explain your answer. 3. How did the school districts respond to the decision? The four school districts appealed to the 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals and argued that the schools for Mexican American children were equal to those of Anglo students and therefore the 14 th Amendment had not been violated. The 9 th Circuit Court upheld Judge McCormick s decision. 4. How did the California legislature respond? The California legislature then passed a law ending segregation in the state s public schools.

6 Impact of the Case: 11:24 to the end 1. Why was this case important in the struggle to end segregation? Even though it only ended public school segregation in the state of California, it was a step toward ending the practice in other areas. The 9 th Circuit Court ruled that the whole idea of separate but equal was unconstitutional because it was too hard to measure. Rather than just having equal facilities, schools should aim for social equality and allow the races to interact. This case inspired others across the nation to attempt to achieve equality.

7 The Background of the Case to 6:00 Delgado v Bastrop ISD How had the population of Texas changed during the first years of the 20 th century? 2. What had caused the population to increase in the border city of Del Rio? 3. What did the Texas Constitution of 1876 say about segregation? 4. What was the practice concerning segregation in the Del Rio school district? 5. What happened in the 1930 s that alarmed Mexican American parents? 6. Who was Jesus Salvatierra and what did he do? 7. How did the school officials defend their policy? 8. What was wrong with this argument? 9. How did the Texas Court of Civil Appeals rule? 10. How did the decision change the policy of school districts? 11. How did this ruling affect different school districts? 12. How did Jesus Salvatierra and other parents respond? Stop and Think: How would you have felt if you had been a Mexican American parent of school age children in Texas at this time? A school official?

8 Minerva Delgado 6:00 to 7:52 1. How had the Westminster case in California affected Mrs. Delgado and other Mexican American parents? Question brought to the U.S. District Court: (NOTE This is not a U.S. Supreme Court case. It was decided in the District Court and not taken to the higher court.) 7:52 to 9:12 1. What was the question in this case brought before the U.S. District Court? (Formula for issue question yes/no question; facts of the case; part of the Constitution in question) 2. What did the attorneys for the Mexican American parents argue? Stop and Think: How would you have answered the question in this case had you been the judge? The Ruling: 9:12 to 10:44 1. How did the U.S. District Court rule? 2. How did Judge Rice define how segregation for educational purposes could be used? Stop and Think: Do you agree or disagree with Judge Rice s ruling? Explain your answer. Impact of the Case: 10:44 to the end 1. What was the result of the ruling for local school districts? Stop and Think: Explain your opinion concerning the statement in the video that says the Delgado case was only a small victory toward ending segregation in public schools in Texas.

9 The Background of the Case to 6:00 Delgado v Bastrop ISD How had the population of Texas changed during the first years of the 20 th century? It had grown from 3 million to 41/2 million in just a few short years. 2. What had caused the population to increase in the border city of Del Rio? The economy was good because of the water supply for farming and ranching. Many Mexican families immigrated to the city to settle down and raise families. 3. What did the Texas Constitution of 1876 say about segregation? The Constitution provided for separate schools for Anglo and African American students, but nothing was said about segregating Mexican American children. 4. What was the practice concerning segregation in the Del Rio school district? The Mexican American children in the older part of town called the San Felipe neighborhood attended a school that only had students of Mexican American heritage. 5. What happened in the 1930 s that alarmed Mexican American parents? The school district planned to expand an elementary school in the San Felipe area of town. They believed that the plan was to move all Mexican American children to this school for complete segregation. 6. Who was Jesus Salvatierra and what did he do? He was a Mexican American parent who, along with others, filed a law suit because of the unequal quality of education for their children and the segregation that was being established. 7. How did the school officials defend their policy? They said they were just trying to help Mexican American children by giving them extra help and attention so that they could catch up with Anglo students who might have been in class longer and did not have a language barrier. 8. What was wrong with this argument? There were no tests or interviews done to determine if a Mexican American child needed this extra attention. They were just all placed in the school. 9. How did the Texas Court of Civil Appeals rule? The court ruled that segregating the students based on their race was wrong because it did not take into account the individual abilities of the students. Additionally, the court noted that Mexican American students were considered Caucasian. However, the court also noted that Mexican American children might need extra help in learning English, and thus, segregation for this reason was permissible. 10. How did the decision change the policy of school districts? School districts were to group and classify students according to their individual needs. Therefore, Mexican American students could still be segregated if the school said it was for the students benefit. 11. How did this ruling affect different school districts? The policy of segregating Mexican American students varied from school district to school district. Some districts determined that their Mexican American students needed extra help until the third grade, while others said they needed extra help until the fifth or the eighth grade. It varied from community to community. 12. How did Jesus Salvatierra and other parents respond? They filed a suit with the U.S. Supreme Court, but it was turned down.

10 Stop and Think: How would you have felt if you had been a Mexican American parent of school age children in Texas at this time? A school official? Minerva Delgado 6:00 to 7:52 1. How had the Westminster case in California affected Mrs. Delgado and other Mexican American parents? They believed that since California had ended segregation of Mexican American children in California, they had a precedent to end it in Texas. Thus, they filed a law suit arguing that since Texas had no law requiring the segregation of Mexican American students since they were considered to be Caucasian, the practice was illegal. Question brought to the U.S. District Court: (NOTE This is not a U.S. Supreme Court case. It was decided in the District Court and not taken to the higher court.) 7:52 to 9:12 1. What was the question in this case brought before the U.S. District Court? (Formula for issue question yes/no question; facts of the case; part of the Constitution in question) If a public school district maintained separate schools for Mexican American students when there was no state law requiring the school district to do so, was the school district violating the students rights as guaranteed under the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment? 2. What did the attorneys for the Mexican American parents argue? The attorneys argued that even though they were Mexican Americans, they were entitled to the same protections and rights as Anglos. They also noted that, at this time, the only Texas law on segregation involved African Americans. Stop and Think: How would you have answered the question in this case had you been the judge? The Ruling: 9:12 to 10:44 1. How did the U.S. District Court rule? The District Court ruled that Mexican American children could not be segregated because of race. However, the court ruled that it was permissible for a school district to segregate for educational purposes if it would benefit the child. 2. How did Judge Rice define how segregation for educational purposes could be used? He ruled that all students were to be tested with regards to language proficiency. He also ruled that segregation for non-english speaking Mexican American students was only allowed for those entering the first grade. Stop and Think: Do you agree or disagree with Judge Rice s ruling? Explain your answer. Impact of the Case: 10:44 to the end 1. What was the result of the ruling for local school districts? Because of the loophole provided in the decision, some school districts continued to find ways to use segregation with regards to Mexican American students. The school districts said they were not segregating based on race, but based on what was needed to benefit the child. Stop and Think: Explain your opinion concerning the statement in the video that says the Delgado case was only a small victory toward ending segregation in public schools in Texas.