Sylvia Mendez

Sylvia Mendez (born June 7, 1936) is an American civil rights activist and retired nurse. At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the ''Mendez v. Westminster'' case, the landmark desegregation case of 1946. The case successfully ended ''de jure'' segregation in California and paved the way for integration and the American civil rights movement.

Mendez grew up during a time when most southern and southwestern schools were segregated. In the case of California, Hispanics were not allowed to attend schools that were designated for "Whites" only and were sent to the so-called "Mexican schools." Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites" only school, an event which prompted her parents to take action and together organized various sectors of the Hispanic community who filed a lawsuit in the local federal court. The success of their action, of which Sylvia was the principal catalyst, would eventually bring to an end the era of segregated education.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, by President Obama in 2011. Provided by Wikipedia