Sylvia Mendez Learning Pavilion Mural

Sylvia Mendez Learning Pavilion Mural

Chuck Adame, with the help of Israel “Ezra” Cervantes and Jose Joaquin, 2021

The Sylvia Mendez Learning Pavilion Mural was created by Chuck Adame, with the help of Israel “Ezra” Cervantes and Jose Joaquin in 2021.

On an exterior wall, a mural created by artist Chuck Adame – with the help of fellow artists Israel “Ezra” Cervantes and Jose Joaquin – captures both the vision of the pavilion and the significance of Mendez v. Westminster.

The dignified profile of Sylvia Mendez occupies the top left corner of the mural, along with the year her case was resolved. Also depicted are her parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, the Presidential Medal of Freedom she was awarded in 2011, a blindfolded Lady Justice, books with the term “equality” written on their spines in multiple languages, and the Japanese kanji character for “harmony.” The latter symbolizes the family’s bond with members of the Munemitsu family who leased their farmland to the Mendezes after being ordered to an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Adame was proud to be able to pay homage to the history of the Mendez v. Westminster case. “I was just so amazed, I could not stop talking about it,” he said. “I was telling everyone I knew about this. So to say that I was extremely honored to be a part of it is an understatement.”