Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month MOTAL's Story, Our Intern's Story and Invitation to Tell Your Story

OUR STORY
MOTAL's traveling exhibition A Class Action: The Grassroots Struggle for School Desegregation in California is based on the exhibition for which MOTAL was awarded an Award of Merit by the prestigious American Association for State and Local History, installed at the Old Orange County Courthouse from September 2011 to June 2012.


A Class Action has traveled to various venues and spaces throughout California, Oregon, and Utah. Please see the attached flyer to view a list of all the venues A Class Action Exhibition has been displayed. We look forward to displaying at the below venues once the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a threat:


Moreno Valley Unified School District - Moreno Valley High School
AND
Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa


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. Experts have called this the most important court case about segregation before Brown v. Board of Education. ​

MY STORY 
During my time as a docent for MOTAL’s A Class Action exhibit in Buena Park, I had the privilege of leading tours for 4th and 5th grade students from various schools within the district. Near the end of the tour we had a station for students to write down their own “legacies,” how they hoped to make a difference in the world. Through this process, I would then lead a discussion on the ways the Mendez et al. v. Westminster et al. case made a difference in California schools. I believe the most interactive and educational parts of an exhibit are the ways in which it can reach out to the audience and leave a lasting impact.
The students were appalled by the inequalities faced by the Mexican-American children and will always remember the Mendez court case as a landmark decision that confirmed that all children, no matter their race or ethnicity, deserve an equal education.
For these elementary school students, many of whom were of Mexican descent, the exhibit presented an alternate view of the education we now have the opportunity of receiving in public schools.
Below are a few examples of their self-proclaimed "legacies": 


I want to make a difference in the world by…


“My legacy will be to end racism.” —Maya


“Becoming the first female president, and make the world a better place.” —Wendy


“Encouraging friends and family to put their voice into the world however they want.”
—Savannah


I began my work for MOTAL a little over a year ago as an intern and have learned an immeasurable amount about myself, museum work, community engagement, and exhibit installation. My experience as a docent for A Class Action allowed me to see, first-hand, the impact that exhibits and history have on the community, specifically children. 
Similar to countless immigrants across America, my father came to this country to provide a better life for his children. I do not consider my achievements and experiences solely a product of my own efforts, but a culmination of generations of hard work and sacrifice from those that came before me. Through museum work I choose to recognize the immense privilege that I have and commit myself to educating the public and sharing the story of those communities frequently ignored by history.


Sincerely, 
Cecilia Castillo 
MOTAL Intern ​