Why Doesn't Westminster Commemorate Mendez vs. Westminster?

• I sent the following to the OC Register's Letters to the Editor on Feb. 18 before seeing this article: "Dear Editor, Being a third generation Orange County raised American (Fullerton born), I am familiar with the legacy of discrimination that immigrants in this county had to overcome during the last 100 years. From relatives I have heard stories of anti-Semitism, racism against Jamaican citrus workers during WW II, laws prohibiting Mexicans from walking down major thoroughfares at night, Klu Klux Klan parades and cross burnings. We have come a long way in the last 100 years considering that immigrants in may countries do not enjoy the same rights as those in the United States. Since the early 70's I have heard my mother talk about Mr. and Mrs. Mendez who had taken the Westminster School Disctrict to court to end school segregation in 1946. In fact, Mr. Gonzalo Mendez had met with a group of parents from Santa Ana which included my grandfather to gather support. Fortunately, with the support of other ethnic organizations (NAACP, American Jewish Congress and Japanese-American Citizens League) the Mendez family won their case at the United States Circuit Court of Appeals in 1947. It is ironic that more than 60 years later the city of Westminster has not yet established a school, park or monument celebrating the birthplace of the illegalization of school segregation in the United States. Being a city most notable for it large minority and immigrant population, one would think that Westminster's past and present city councils could have taken the initiative to recognize the valor of the Westminster family of Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez. What could be a better message that Westminster is a town that welcomes new residents without regard to race, creed or color?" Let's see if The Register has the journalistic courage to print the letter. c/s

• The mistake will get fixed soon enough! As you well know, qdpsteve, I focus my energy almost exclusively on Orange County. I read Patterico once in a while, and have commented before, but I'd rather save my verbal sword on this blog or those based in Orange County rather than facing off at a blog I may or may not remember to comment on. But, if he ever posts about something in OC, make sure to let me know!

• Gustavo, thought you'd be interested that OCW's front page today gives your colleage Mr. Coker credit for this article. Hmmm... ;-) Also, Gustavo-- if you don't mind another threadjack-- you might not end up the most popular guy there if you throw in your two pesos, but I bet you'd have good stuff to share about <a href="http://patterico.com/2009/02/18/deporting-illegal-aliens-inherently-wrong-were-starting-to-treat-it-that-way/">this thread today at Patterico's Pontifications.</a> Given Patterico's (who by day is a deputy DA in Compton) LATimes-busting street cred, and considerable history as a moderate Republican-- he urged his readers to vote no on Prop 8, among other things-- I'm a bit surprised that you've apparently never commented at his site before, or written about it here.

• It's a damn shame given what a landmark civil rights case Mendez v. Westminster was...Mayor Rice wake up!

• Good idea, Bob! Let's swear off noodles.

• Gustavo, Why not have an economic boycott of Westminster, until the city of Westminster gives an official--and more substantial--recognition of Mendez vs. Westminster? Case in point: Arizona and the Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) holiday. If I remember correctly, back in 1990, a proposition to recognize the MLK holiday in Arizona did not pass, and as result, the NFL boycotted having Super Bowl XXVII in Arizona. Needless to say, because of the boycott (and the economic pinch it caused), Arizona voters approved the holiday in 1992, and in 1993, the NFL awarded Super Bowl XXX to Arizona. Seems to me that if a similar, economic boycott were to be used in Westminster, it might do the trick in getting the city to recognize the Mendez vs. Westminster ruling.

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