NARA Hosts Discussion and Screening on Segregation Case Mendez v. Westminster
Press Release · Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Washington, DC

On Wednesday, September 30, at 2 p.m., the National Archives and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation present a panel discussion of Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark 1946 ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, which prohibited segregation in California’s public schools. A special screening of the 2003 PBS documentary Mendez vs. Westminster: For All The Children/Para Todos los Ninos will follow the discussion.

Moderated by Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, panelists will include Charles J. Saylors, president of the National Parent Teacher Association; Brent A. Wilkes, National Executive Director for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); Silvia Mendez, a civil rights activist who played an instrumental role in the Mendez case; and Eutiquio Chapa, a past recipient of the Hispanic Youth Award for Education. Following the discussion, we will screen the 2003 PBS Emmy Award-winning documentary Mendez vs. Westminster: For All The Children/Para Todos los Ninos, written and produced by Sandra Robbie, who will introduce the film.

The program is free and open to the public, and will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building, located at Constitution and 7th Street, NW. Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station.

For more information on National Archives programs, the public should call the Public Programs Line at: (202) 357-5000, or view the Calendar of Events online.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at (202) 357-5300.

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