Spokane Post Office to Honor Equality

Mendez-vs-Westminster

SPOKANE, WA — Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession will assist the Spokane Post Office in dedicating the newly issued Mendez v. Westminster stamp at Spokane’s Grant Elementary School on Friday, October 5, at 2 p.m.

The stamp commemorates the 60th anniversary of the historic Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District et al case.

The stamp honors the landmark desegregation ruling that opened the door toward equality in education for Mexican-American students in California — and ultimately for all students in the United States.

In 1943, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez successfully challenged segregation in Orange County schools. They and four other families filed suit in U.S. District Court. They claimed more than 5,000 children of “Mexican and Latin descent,” were victims of unconstitutional discrimination by being forced to attend separate “Mexican” schools in the Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and El Modena school districts.

"We are honored to dedicate this stamp and introduce this landmark case to a new generation of school children," said Spokane Postmaster Ed Schierberl. Schierberl will serve as the dedicating official for the ceremony.

Artist Raphael Lopez designed the stamp.

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