4 minute read
Hispanic Heritage Month
From Someone Who Was There:
A Discussion with Sylvia Mendez
You can learn about a historical event through a written account or well-made movie, but the best way to know what really happened is to hear it from someone who was there. Sylvia Mendez was there.
Ms. Mendez was a guest of Holland & Knight for a Sept. 30 firmwide webinar as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. She shared the story of how her family name became part of one of the most important civil rights cases in U.S. history, Mendez v. Westminster, and how she, as an 8-year-old Mexican-American, was at the forefront of the fight for school integration in California 75 years ago. The case was a precurser to another landmark ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, less than a decade later.
Sylvia Mendez in the 1940s
Before introducing Ms. Mendez, Partner Eddie Jauregui (LAX) recounted how in the 1940s, it was legal to segregate Asian-Americans and Native Americans. Although Mexicans weren’t specifically mentioned in state law, they, too, were heavily discriminated against, especially as their population swelled in Southern California. This is where Ms. Mendez’s story begins.
“It all started when my father asked my aunt to take us to school. When we arrived, she was informed that we would have to go to the Mexican school,” Ms. Mendez said. This was despite the fact that her family lived next to the school, which was designated for whites only, and the Mexican school was not even in the district. The next day, her father, Gonzalo, took up the matter with the principal and, soon after, the Orange County School Board, which told him that five cities in the county decided to segregate schools. Inspired in part by a 1944 court case that desegregated public parks in San Bernardino, Gonzalo and his wife, Felicitas, decided to fight and sought out the victorious attorney in that case, David Marcus of Los Angeles. “On March 2, 1945, my parents and four other families filed a lawsuit in the federal district court of Los Angeles seeking an immediate injunction against segregation,” said Ms. Mendez, who did not take the stand but helped Marcus practice framing his questions to the other plaintiffs.
“On Feb. 18, 1946, the court found in favor of the five plaintiffs, but the school board decided to appeal. On April 14, 1947, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the [district court] ruling and I, along with thousands of other minority students throughout Orange County, began attending integrated schools.”
Ms. Mendez, now a nationally known civil rights leader and 2011 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, also shared other aspects of her life and travels and what she has witnessed in the fight for equality. But her court victory is never far from her mind.
“Mendez v. Westminster is a case that was won by David Marcus, a lawyer just like all of you,” she said. “I remember my mother saying that nobody knows about how five families fought against segregation here in California and that it was for all the children. It was that day I promised her I would go around the country and talk about it. My goal is to have it taught in all schools the same way Brown v. Board of Education is taught today.”
Top, Eddie Jauregui (LAX) and Isabel Diaz (MIA), Hispanic Affinity Group co-chair Bottom, Sylvia Mendez and Jorge Hernandez-Toraño (MIA), Hispanic Affinity Group co-chair
LATIN AMERICA ATTORNEYS ELEVATED TO PARTNERSHIP
Overall, Holland & Knight’s Latin America Practice has more than 170 professionals offering a full range of services to clients engaged in business in Latin America.
Ines Vesga Maria Juliana Saa Eugenio Grageda Rafael Lafont
Several attorneys were elevated to partner in Holland & Knight’s Bogotá and Mexico City offices in August 2021: Inés Elvira Vesga, Maria Juliana Saa (both BOG) and Eugenio Grageda (MEX). In addition, Rafael Lafont (BOG) was elevated to partner on Jan. 1. The new partners work on complex domestic and cross-border matters in their respective markets and throughout the Americas, with a focus on the Latin America region. All of the lawyers were previously senior counsel.
“Our newly promoted partners have demonstrated considerable talent, excellent client service, leadership and a strong commitment to the firm,” said Partner Roberto Pupo (MIA), chair of the firm’s Latin America Practice. “We are very pleased to call them partners and celebrate their achievements. We could not be prouder of them, and we wish them continued success in their new roles.”
Added Partner and Business Section Leader Jose Sirven (MIA): “Their promotion is well-deserved and highlights Holland & Knight’s belief in growing and fostering a diverse team to provide clients with superior service.”
Holland & Knight added more depth to its diversity and inclusion efforts with the launch of the Hispanic Affinity Group Mentorship Program in 2021. The program is designed to help mentees further their personal and professional development through contact with talented attorney mentors at various levels throughout the firm. Pods of thoughtfully selected mentors provide more diverse perspectives to help mentees set and achieve career goals.
Mentors serve a wide swath of practices and industry groups, including Financial Services, Intellectual Property, Product Liability and Technology & Telecommunications.
