User:BreiAunna/Sylvia Mendez

Mendez Historic Freedom Trail and Monument
The Mendez Historic Freedom Trail and Monument is located at 7371 Westminster Blvd. It tells the story of what happened, in early 1944, when Sylvia Mendez and her brothers Gonzalo Jr. and Jerome, tried to start attending school at the Westminster 17th Street School. Sylvia Mendez and her family had recently moved to Westminster and lived close by the school. But Sylvia Mendez and her brothers were turned away and were redirected to go to a “Mexican school. ”

Visiting Information
The city of Westminster built the Mendez Historic Freedom Trail and Monument that has interactive signs describing this historical desegregation case. The trail is an asset and honor to the community.

It has two statues; one of the parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez. The second is two children walking with two books in their hand. The statue of the children resembles the 5,000 children that were represented in this case. At the bottom of the statue it reads “1947: Toward equality in our schools.” The park also features a giant book monument that weighs about 4,000 pounds and introduces the historical civil rights cases.

There are multiple educational opportunities for the community at this site. It has information accessible in English, Spanish and Vietnamese through QR codes where guests can read or listen to the material, augmented reality (AR) experience, and a scavenger hunt.

Funding
This historic Freedom Trail and Monument was funded by various sources. A state park program grant gave the city close to $1.3 million and the California Natural Resources Agency gave $2.3 million.