Family Life
Gonzalo Mendez, a tenant farmer, moved to Westminster from Santa Ana, California with his wife Felicitas and three children: Sylvia, Jerome, and Gonzalo Jr. They understood the importance of what it meant to have a good education. Therefore, they believed that their children had the right to attend the public 17th Street School. Although his children were U.S. citizens, they were denied the right to attend because of their Mexican-American background while his nieces, Alice and Virginia Vidaurri, were accepted because of their lighter skin and European last name. This violation of rights motivated Gonzalo to fight for the end of segregation in education.
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