Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

By boyschooleditorialteam on October 21, 2022

－DVBS Archive Team－

Written by: Bailey Li-lu (6)

Media by: Soong Way Wong (12), Jason Chiem (10)

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The Fight For What’s Right: Sylvia Mendez
~The Girl Who Changed America~

“The fight is never about grapes or lettuce, it’s about the people.”
Cesar Chavez

The sound of chairs clacking along the pavement breaks the afternoon silence. It’s a special day for Latinos and Hispanics: Hispanic heritage Day. The Instilling Goodness Developing Virtue Boys School 3rd-6th graders have been learning about this special month and its importance of bringing everyone together. They have been preparing for a play and song to perform in front of the family, peers and friends!

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Under the guidance of Ms. Moore, our 3rd to 6th grade core teacher, we brought the inspiring story of Sylvia Mendez to our stage.

Born June 7th 1936, Sylvia Mendez played an essential role in the desegregation of American schools. Born to immigrant parents, she suffered the effects of segregation when forced to attend Hoover Elementary, a far cry from the Westminster School which offered a much better education. Enraged, her parents filed a lawsuit against the local school district after learning that Hoover was for children who could not speak English. Sylvia spoke English fluently, but because of her immigrant parents, she was not offered the same opportunities as her white peers. After 3 hard years of legal battling, the Mendez Family and 4 other Hispanic Families won the lawsuit. Sylvia was allowed to attend the Westminster School along with hundreds of other Hispanic children!

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Following the play, the 3rd through 6th grade performed a Spanish song called Los Paises Hispanos, after which refreshments were served. With that, our celebration concluded, but we will never forget Sylvia Mendez’s story. To quote Cesar Chavez, “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce, it’s about the people.”