By: Duncan Tonatiuh
What do you think of when you hear the term desegregation? Brown v. Board of Education is always one of the first things that comes to my mind. However, this court case was not the only one that had a major impact on desegregation of schools, and this information is often overlooked when studying history.
Separate is Never Equal is an informational picturebook that was honored with a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor and a Robert F. Sipert Informational Book Honor. Telling the important story of Sylvia Mendez, a young American girl with family ties to Mexico and Puerto Rico, who was rejected from attending a fancy "Whites Only" school in California in 1944. When she and her siblings were forced to attend the poor "Mexican School," her parents took action and filed a lawsuit that went to court and became the Mendez v. Westminster case. By working towards desegregation, the family gained a large following within various communities of different backgrounds that wanted to support the Mendez family. Eventually, the Mendez family won the case and appeals, and played a huge role in working towards the end of segregation in schools.
The book opens with a full-bleed illustration in Duncan Tonatiuh's unique style of artwork, which involves drawing in a traditional, cartoonish, Mexican style, but adding mixed-media images (such as photographs of hair on the characters heads) through computer collages. Through this mixed media, Tonatiuh works to incorporate both the traditional and the contemporary when engaging children in his work. The first illustration depict little Sylvia Mendez crying and isolated in Westminster School (the previously "Whites Only" school), which immediately draws upon readers emotions. The illustration is accompanied by textual evidence of Sylvia being bullied by a boy who tells her to "Go back to the Mexican School! You don't belong here!" (p. 2). By starting the book with an example of racism and bullying, the book is instantly relatable to so many readers who know what it is like to interact with mean kids.
The book involves powerful discussions of race and uses many thought-provoking quotations. At one point, Sylvia thinks, "Why do I have to go to the Mexican school? … She was not Mexican-she was American. She spoke perfect English" (p. 9). For me, this was a heartbreaking moment in the story because so many people can relate to being incorrectly labeled as something they are not based on appearance. Later, Sylvia's mother states "When you fight for justice, others will follow," first in Spanish and then translated into English (p. 33). In contrast to the first quotation, this flipped to the other end of the emotional scale for me, because it was inspiring to read about how much support various organizations offered to the Mendez family in their lawsuit.
The book is bursting with information through an extensive glossary, author's note on Sylvia Mendez, and a list of sources used. Interestingly enough, most of Tonatiuh's information came from his interviews with Sylvia Mendez herself and court files or news accounts, because there have not been many stories discussing this topic prior to his work (front flap). I really loved reading this book, because I think it covers such an important topic that I felt my education in history was missing- desegregation on a larger scale and in different cases and perspectives. As such, I think this would be a great resource in elementary school (or any age) classrooms, because it does present a forgotten side of the story that many readers would be able to relate to.
More information about Sylvia Mendez: http://sylviamendezinthemendezvswestminster.com
More information on the Mendez v. Westminster case: http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/background-mendez-v-westminster-re-enactment
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