Schools need to be an easy place to learn where students feel like they are respected and accepted. In the 1940’s, schools in Orange County, California were horrendous and Latinos faced great difficulties in the classroom because they were not allowed to go to good schools because of their race. The Mendez Family deserves to win the La Raza Award because they knew they were endangering their futures but didn’t give up when they faced adversity and they fought not just for themselves but for Latinos across the country.
The Mendez Family knew they were endangering their futures but didn’t give up when they faced adversity. Gonzalo Mendez Sr. was the father of the Mendez Family. Even when people accused him of being a communist because he fought …show more content…
When the Mendez family sued the Westminster School Board, the board was extremely flustered. Then as Sylvia Mendez observed, “The board member then offered to allow us into the white school if he dropped proceedings. My father refused him yet again. The board member left very agitated.” (S. Mendez, 4) Gonzalo would have accepted the offer if he only cared about his own kid’s education, but he realized that this case was much bigger and affected many more people than his own family. The case ultimately was ruled in the Mendez Family’s favor and was instrumental in helping desegregate many schools in California. But the impact was not just limited to California. ‘Using Méndez, district courts in Texas and Arizona ruled to end segregation for Mexican Americans before the U.S. Supreme Court decided that all state-sponsored segregation is unconstitutional in Brown.’ (https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/Los_Angeles_US_Court_House_and_Post_Office.html )
The Mendez Family refused to give up even when times were hard and persevered not just to change things for themselves but to change things for Latinos across the country; therefore they deserve the La Raza Award. The efforts of the Mendez family helped desegregate schools in California, but also schools across the country. Today, schools are not perfect but much better than they used to be. The La Raza award should be awarded to