Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

Image retrieved from www.amazon.com.

1. Bibliography

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2014. ISBN 9781419710544

2. Plot Summary

In 1944, Sylvia Mendez and her family move to Westminster, California where her father will lease a farm of his own and no long be a field-worker. When Sylvia’s Aunt takes her, along with her brothers and cousins, to enroll in the local school, they are told they cannot attend that school. They have to go to the Mexican school. This doesn’t make any sense to the Mendez family, but when they ask the school board why their children have to attend a separate school, they are told “That is how it is done.” Unsatisfied with this answer, the Mendez family files a lawsuit to end segregation in public schools. In the end, the judge rules in favor of the Mendez family. Because of them, a law is signed that says “all children in California were allowed to go to school together, regardless of race, ethnicity, or language.” The Mendez case paved the way for the desegregation of all schools in America.

3. Critical Analysis

This picture book explores one of the first battles for desegregation in American public schools. Told through the eyes of a young Mexican girl, Sylvia Mendez, it accurately conveys the history of the Mendez v. Westminster School District case. By writing this book from Mendez’s point of view, Tonatiuh easily connects with children to show them the significance of desegregation of schools in America. Students could learn about this subject in a classroom or from a textbook, but reading about it in a relatable picture book has a much greater impact and allows them to see segregation from Sylvia’s point of view. Children relate to Sylvia’s character while learning accurate information and facts about the Mendez case.

Sylvia Mendez’s dad is a migrant worker. He has been a field-worker for many years, but the Mendez family moves to California for him to lease a farm - to be the boss. Tonatiuh portrays the Mendez family as a typical family of migrant workers. They have labored for many years for the opportunity to move their family to a better place. However, just like many migrant workers, once they arrive at the better place, they encounter discrimination because of their language and skin color. When Sylvia’s Aunt Soledad goes to enroll them in the local school, the secretary gives enrollment forms for her cousins, but not for Sylvia and her brothers. Sylvia’s cousins have light colored skin and long auburn hair, and their last name is Vidaurri. Their father is Mexican, but of French descent. Sylvia wonders why they receive forms and she doesn’t. She asks, “Is it because we have brown skin and thick black hair and our last name is Mendez?” Tonatiuh gets straight to the point when he has Sylvia ask this question. Sylvia and her brothers are being sent to the Mexican school because of their skin color, not because of their social behavior, learning abilities, or cleanliness as the superintendent Mr. Kent says later in the book.

Throughout the book Tonatiuh uses the Spanish language to emphasize the Mexican culture of Mendez’s family. Following each Spanish sentence is another sentence with its translation. For example, when Sylvia’s father says, “Es una injusticia,” it is followed with “It’s an injustice.” The inclusion of the Spanish language is a simple reminder to the reader of Sylvia’s language and culture throughout the book. The close-knit family relationships of the Mexican culture are also portrayed in Sylvia’s relationship with her Aunt and cousins. It is her aunt that takes her to enroll in school, not her mother, and when her cousins are given enrollment forms and she is not, the family decides they will not be separated. If one cannot attend public school, the other will not either. Family is everything in the Mexican culture.

Tonatiuh uses simple illustrations to tell Sylvia Mendez’s story. He accurately portrays her and her family with brown skin and thick black hair. On the opening page spread showing Sylvia’s first day in public school, all the other students have light-colored skin and light-colored hair, while Mendez is the only student on the page with dark features. Her dark skin color is accurately shown in comparison to the lighter skin color of her cousins, the school secretary, and the superintendent of the schools. By drawing simple illustrations, Tonatiuh allows the reader to focus in on the point he is trying to make - that skin color is the reason for segregation, and it is unjust. His illustrations also show the difference between the local public school and the Mexican school. The public school is well taken care of with spacious, clean halls. On the other hand, he shows the Mexican school located in the cow pasture with cow paddies and flies everywhere.

The inclusion of the “Author’s Note” at the end of the book gives an excellent opportunity for students to further research the Mendez v. Westminster School District case and its role in paving the way for the Brown v. Board of Education case. It also tells about the rest of Sylvia’s life and how the success of her family’s lawsuit paved the way for success in her life and the lives of others. She was able to attend integrated schools and then go on to college and pursue a degree as a registered nurse. This never would have been possible if it hadn’t been for the determination of her family and others who helped them.

4. Review Excerpts

From BOOKLIST (May 1, 2014): "Pura Belpré Award–winning Tonatiuh (Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote, 2013) makes excellent use of picture-book storytelling to bring attention to the 1947 California ruling against public-school segregation."

From KIRKUS (June 1, 2014): "A little-known yet important story of the fight to end school discrimination against Mexican-American children is told with lively text and expressive art."

2015 Pura Belpré Award Winner

5. Connections

Read other books written by Duncan Tonatiuh such as:

• Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale. ISBN 9781419705830
• Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. ISBN 9780810997318
• Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. ISBN 9780810938724

Read this book as students learn about Brown v. Board of Education or as an introduction to a unit on the civil rights movement.