The Munemitsu Legacy: The Japanese American Family Behind \u3cem\u3eMendez v. Westminster\u3c/em\u3e: California’s First Successful Desegregation Case

Many Orange County, California schoolchildren know the name \u27Mendez.\u27 After all, the iconic name is front and center of the landmark civil rights case that desegregated several of the county’s public schools in 1947, preceding the 1954 Brown v. Board case on a national level. The Mendez family, one of five Latino families which challenged several school districts in the county on their practice of Mexican-only schools, had their name immortalized in history. But the Mendezes would not have been able to lead the legal charge if it was not for another family of color, the Munemitsus, the Japanese American farming family behind the story of the Mendez v. Westminster