A Class Action—Original Exhibition
Courtesy of Anaheim Public Library,
La Palma School (ca. 1930)
The Grassroots Struggle for School Desegregation
in California
This award-winning exhibition was installed at the Old Orange County Courthouse from September 2011 to to June 2012. The landmark courthouse is Southern California's oldest court building, dedicated in 1901.
Background
In March 1945, five fathers in Orange County, California, brought a class-action lawsuit against four school districts on behalf of their own children and 5,000 other children that were being forced to attend segregated “Mexican schools.”
This exhibition tells the story of their landmark lawsuit, Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District et al., and reveals how community organizing and grassroots activism can produce positive change in schools and communities across the United States. Read about the case.
Exhibition highlights
The interactive exhibition, for which MOTAL was awarded an Award of Merit by the prestigious American Association for State and Local History, provides a physical space where visitors can explore the case, its origins, and how its legacy inspired others to go on to make a difference.
Visitors included
Learn more
To receive a gift copy of the film Mendez v. Westminster: Families for Equality by Erica Bennett with a small donation, contact the Fullerton College Foundation at 714-992-7790 or [email protected].
For more information about the exhibition or how to lease the exhibition, please contact us.
in California
This award-winning exhibition was installed at the Old Orange County Courthouse from September 2011 to to June 2012. The landmark courthouse is Southern California's oldest court building, dedicated in 1901.
Background
In March 1945, five fathers in Orange County, California, brought a class-action lawsuit against four school districts on behalf of their own children and 5,000 other children that were being forced to attend segregated “Mexican schools.”
This exhibition tells the story of their landmark lawsuit, Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District et al., and reveals how community organizing and grassroots activism can produce positive change in schools and communities across the United States. Read about the case.
Exhibition highlights
The interactive exhibition, for which MOTAL was awarded an Award of Merit by the prestigious American Association for State and Local History, provides a physical space where visitors can explore the case, its origins, and how its legacy inspired others to go on to make a difference.
- Photographs and items from all plaintiff families
- A mock classroom for visitors to explore and ponder
- A courtroom reproduction where guests experienced the uncertainty and hope of America’s justice system
- Interactive elements and oral histories from people with firsthand experience of segregated schools
- A learning center with books, newspaper articles, and other materials
- Space for community dialogue and civic engagement
- A rich and varied event series
Visitors included
- Elementary school students and teachers (especially 4th graders studying California history)
- High school students and teachers (especially 11th graders studying American history)
- Adult learners
Learn more
To receive a gift copy of the film Mendez v. Westminster: Families for Equality by Erica Bennett with a small donation, contact the Fullerton College Foundation at 714-992-7790 or [email protected].
For more information about the exhibition or how to lease the exhibition, please contact us.