Sylvia Mendez is a civil rights activist and former nurse. She got an early start in her quest for equality when she her parents sued the state of California to end segregated schools. The 1946 case, Mendez v. Westminster, pushed for the inclusion of Hispanic students in California schools. 1/2

While the district argued the segregation was due to language deficiencies, the plaintiffs successfully demonstrated this to be false, paving the way for desegregation across the state. 2/2