School segregation in U.S. public schools is often thought of as a problem historically affecting the African American community, however, the Mexican American community also experienced segregation in public schools in Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Colorado. Educational policies, practices and programs aimed at "non-English speaking," Mexican-origin students began in the early 1900s and continued through the 1970s.  In most cases Mexican-origin students were segregated based on so-called language and cultural “deficiencies,” to meet the “special needs” of these students. They were segregated in separate classrooms ("Americanization") rooms, separate schools ("Mexican" schools), and intellectually via a separate curriculum. In some cases, these students were simply barred from attending “regular” neighborhood public schools solely because of their ethnicity and were relegated to schools with inferior facilities, resources, teaching materials, equipment, and inexperienced teaching staff. This collection is about how Mexican American parents challenged school segregation and filed two of the most important legal cases, Alvarez v. Lemon Grove School Board  (1930) and Mendez v. Westminster (1947) , well before the renowned case of Brown v Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas in 1954. This collection can be use to teach social studies and historical topics, persons, events and societal issues and how the actions of ordinary citizens, including Mexican Americans, at the local level help the nation achieve the ideals of equality espoused in the constitution and its amendments (14th).  

Applicable Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Social Studies and History include:

Middle School: 113.18  (2) History  (B), (19) Social Studies Skills (A,B,C,D), (21) Social Studies skills (A, B, C, D, E);  High School 113.19  (7) History (E), 113.C.41 (9) History (G) (I) (J), (11) History (B), (25) Culture (A, B, D), (28) Social Studies Skills (A-E), (29) (A, B), (28) Social Studies skills (A-E), (15) Citizenship (A), (16) Culture (A), Sociology (15) Social (B) (19) Social Studies Skills ((A & B)

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