From now on, April 14 will officially be “Sylvia Mendez Day.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill from Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, to honor Mendez and her family’s fight to end school segregation in Orange County and, subsequently, California.
A Westminster park already bears the name of Mendez, whose family was behind the landmark civil rights court case after she and her brothers were denied entry to a school in 1943.
Mendez, now 90, said she is “deeply honored” that Newsom signed the bill into law.
“My parents and the other families who stood with them fought so that every child would have the same opportunity to receive an education, regardless of their background. I have spent much of my life sharing the story of Mendez v. Westminster so future generations understand what these families accomplished,” she said. “I hope this day helps keep that history alive and reminds young people that they can stand up for what is right.”
After their children were denied admittance into the Seventeenth Street School in Westminster, the Mendez parents, along with four other families, filed a class-action lawsuit against four Orange County school districts in 1945. Instead of accepting the students, district officials told the children to attend a “Mexican school.”
The families were successful, and the decision led to the repeal of segregation laws in California in 1947. The federal case is considered to have set the stage for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education case seven years later, which said segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
“Growing up in Westminster and later having the honor of serving as its mayor, I have seen firsthand how important the Mendez v. Westminster story is to our community,” said Ta.
“This case helped change California and contributed to the broader fight for equal education across our country. Sylvia Mendez has spent decades making sure this history is remembered, and I am proud that California will now recognize April 14 as Sylvia Mendez Day,” he said.
It will not be a judicial holiday or a new paid day off for state employees, nor will schools close on the day. Instead, the state holiday will serve “as a day of recognition honoring the Mendez family’s legacy and the historic fight for educational equality,” Ta’s office said in a news release.
This is not the first bill Ta has worked on and had signed by Newsom to honor Mendez.
In 2024, Newsom signed into law a requirement for California’s public schools to teach the court case, an effort led by Ta and Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana.
“Orange County was at the center of a civil rights victory that helped change American history,” Ta said. “Sylvia Mendez Day will help ensure future generations know that story and remember the courage of the families who stood up for equal opportunity.”