Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights

Philippa Strum is a Resident Senior Scholar with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for scholars and author of Women in the Barracks: The VMI Case and Equal Rights and When the Nazis Came to Skokie: Freedom for Speech We Hate, among others.

Everyone's familiar with the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, and its iconic place in the annals of American civil rights and jurisprudence history. But another case that addressed segregated education set the stage for what was to follow with Brown, and thanks to Philippa Sturm's newest book, the case, Mendez v. Westminster, is finally given its due. No history of the civil rights movement is complete without the inclusion of Mendez and the pivotal role it played in the struggle for equality. Tonight on dialogue, we revisit the legal issues and legacy of this underappreciated Ninth Circuit real life drama. Scheduled for rebroadcast starting September 15th, 2010 on MHz Worldview channel.