Separate Is Never Equal

Narrated by Adriana Sananes, this iconographic-animated adaptation of the 2014 picture book by author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh looks at the 1946 civil rights school battle Mendez vs. Westminster (which took place nearly a decade before Brown v. Board of Education). Separate Is Never Equal follows young Sylvia Mendez, the daughter of a California field-working Mexican citizen father and Puerto Rican mother (who later holds down the family farm of asparagus, chiles, and tomatoes once the lawsuit is underway). Sylvia and her siblings are denied entry to a prosperous nearby Orange County public school because of their darker skin, and when Sylvia's dad objects to school officials, “no one would give him a satisfactory answer.” Mr. Mendez works to gather signatures to file a petition for equality for all of the children (although some neighbors don't want to rock the boat). Covering both the subsequent trial (in which education professionals practically lied about the supposed lack of basic aptitude, language skills, and even cleanliness of the Hispanic children) and the aftermath (the NAACP and other group organizations became involved), this inspirational program reminds viewers that “when you fight for justice, others will follow.” DVD extras include a read-along option and an audio segment with notes on the history of the case and Sylvia Mendez's later life. Recommended. Aud: E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)