A $1.5 million check was given to the city of Westminster, California, on Oct. 19 by state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) Oct. 19 that will allow for the completion of the Mendez Freedom Trail in honor of a 1940s civil rights case that desegregated California public schools.
In the 1940s, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez attempted to send their children to 17th Street School, which was designated for white children. The Mendez family—who were U.S. citizens and Westminster residents but were of Hispanic descent—were denied entry and instructed to send their children to Hoover Elementary instead.
