Untitled Mendez vs. Westminster Book Monument

Untitled Mendez vs. Westminster Book Monument

Ignacio Gomez, 2022

Untitled Mendez vs. Westminster Book Monument was created by Ignacio Gomez in 2022.

This sculptural memorial is part of the opening of the Mendez Tribute Monument Park and in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education. This statue, shaped like a book, details the Mendez vs. Westminster case which took place before the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court Case of 1954.

These sculptures celebrate the historic Mendez vs. Westminster case in 1947. Mendez’s father Gonzalo and four other Latino fathers and their families: Thomas Estrada, William Guzman, Frank Palomino, and Lorenzo Ramirez, combined their lawsuits against the school district into this case which went to federal court. The federal court ruled in favor of Mendez on April 14, 1947 for desgregation in the public school setting.