Critical Race Theory

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

By Duncan Tonatiuh

Summary

The story starts off with a young girl starting her day at her new school and being rudely told that she doesn’t belong in the school because of her Mexican race. The girl, understandably upset, tells her family she doesn’t want to return to the school. However, when her family tells her the story of how school segregation ended, she changed her mind and proudly went to school the following days. The story spoke about a family that was denied registration for school because they were not White and were told that they would have to go to a separate school for Mexican children. They decided to confront the issue and fight the injustice when realizing their children were not given the same opportunities as the White children just because of their skin color. After learning more about the issue, creating a petition, and bringing the battle to court, they were able to overturn the school’s decision to deny the children registration and made it so that schools were integrated.

Personal Reflection

This book is a great story to read with students, especially if when they are learning about the Supreme Court Cases, the Martin Luther King Jr. era and the fight for civil rights, or if they are learning about the history of segregation. This book is based on real life circumstances that Sylvia Mendez went through and holds a lot of historical information.

I think a lot of people think specifically about African American people when the think about the segregation and civil rights issues America faced in the 1900s. However, this book brings to light that African Americans were not the only ones who were treated poorly during these times. Most People of Color were treated unfairly and were segregated because of their skin color.

One great thing about this book is that there is a clear issue being presented and ways that the characters confront the issue and made a change. The characters identified the issue, talked to different people, started a petition, learned more about the issue through research, and then they sought out a long-lasting change that will effect more people than just themselves by bringing it to the courtroom (Laminack & Kelly, 2017). This book is a great set up for students to talk about afterwards in a discussion and lead them towards enacting their own changes for issues in their schools or community.

This book is a bilingual book and has several phrases written in Spanish. The English reader can see the Spanish words and phrases and either use context clues to break down their meaning or see the translation that usually follows the phrase. The bilingual aspect of the book is extremely helpful for students who identify with the culture to further connect with the story and the meaning of it.

Duncan Tonatiuh, the writer, illustrated this book as well. The faces of the characters are very expressive in every scene. On the first page of the story, we see the young girl, Sylvia, with a tear falling from her eye after the White boy told her she didn’t belong in their school because of her race. Another page also showed the characters expressive faces. When the family was in court and the school board was being questioned, we read their sour explanation with the idea that Mexican people are somehow inferior to White people and that is why they believe they should not be allowed in their schools. In the illustration on this page, we see Sylvia’s family with utter disbelief on their faces. The father is crossing his arms and everyone’s mouth lie open. One of the children even has an outstretched arm and as I imagine this scene playing out in my head, the boy is out stretching his hand in shock and frustration toward the judge stand and the person speaking.

Cultural Authenticity

As mentioned above, this story is based on the true story of Sylvia Mendez and her family’s experiences during the time when segregation was still prominent and they had to fight to change these injustices. In an interview with Sylvia Mendez, she recounts the story of going to school and shouted out by other students who felt she did not belong in the school because of her race. She explains that when she attended the segregated school, she felt as though she were missing opportunities because of the lack of resources and generally bad quality of education. The author, Duncan Tonatiuh, wrote this book after hearing her story and used her experiences to share with a broader audience. Duncan Tonatiuh is also a Mexican-American and felt compelled to share the story because his identity and culture is effected by the history of it.

Awards

· Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Award

· Robert F. Sibert Honor Book Award

Sylvia Mendez Interview - Education Week

References

Education Week, (2014). Voices of History: Sylvia Mendez. YouTube. Retrieved on Oct 17, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIMWdfSxoh8

Laminack, L., & Kelly, K., (2017). Reading to Make a Difference: Using Literature to Help Students Speak Freely, Think Deeply, and Take Action. Heinemann Publishers.

Tonatiuh, D., (2014). Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. Abrams Books for Young Readers.