How The Legacy of Latinx Activism Influenced Education Today

How many of you have heard of the following court cases: Mendez v Westminster? Plyler v. Doe? Most of us know about the historic case Brown v Board of Education that ruled racial segregation in schools unconstitutional. In 1946, before the Brown decision, eight-year-old Sylvia Mendez was one of the children represented in the case Mendez v. Westminster when a group of Mexican American families in California won the very first federal court case ruling that the segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. A decision that paved the way for the Brown decision. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, when a group of undocumented Mexican families from Texas in 1982  argued and won their case in the Supreme Court, ensuring that children living in the U.S. without legal immigration documentation could access a public education. This case laid the groundwork for the DREAM Act and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program also known as DACA – both of which are essential today to thousands of children and young adults across the United States. This month we are delighted to welcome attorney, journalist, and television commentator Raul Reyes to talk more about the legacy of these historic cases, their impact, and the future of DACA.