Lemon Grove Incident

The Lemon Grove Incident was an incident that occurred in 1930 and 1931 in Lemon Grove, California where the local school board attempted to build a separate school for children of Mexican origin.

On July 23, 1930, the all-Anglo Lemon Grove school board decided to build a separate school for children of Mexican heritage without giving notice to their parents. ["Black, White, and Brown: Latino School Desegregation Efforts in the Pre- and Post- Brown vs. Board of Education Era" by James A. Ferg-Cadina [http://www.maldef.org/publications/pdf/LatinoDesegregationPaper2004.pdf] ] On January 5, 1931, Lemon Grove Grammar School principal Jerome Green, acting under instructions from school trustees, turned away Mexican children at the schoolhouse door, directing them to the new school, which came to be known within the local Mexican American community as "la caballeriza", meaning "the barn".

However, the parents had instructed their children to return home if this were to happen, and the children obeyed. The parents refused to send their children to the new school, and since they were not allowed back at the main schoolhouse, this resulted in a boycott. The parents sought the assistance of the Mexican consul in San Diego, Enrique Ferreira. He put them in touch with two attorneys.

The landmark lawsuit resulting from the "Lemon Grove Incident" became the first successful school desegregation court decision in the history of the United States. ["The Lemon Grove Incident: The Nation's First Successful Desegregation Court Case" by Robert R. Alvarez, Jr. The Journal of San Diego History Spring 1986, Volume 32, Number 2 [http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/86spring/lemongrove.htm] ] On March 9, 2007, the Lemon Grove School District recognized Roberto Alvarez, the schoolboy who was the lead plaintiff from the case. The auditorium at the Lemon Grove Middle School, which is on the site of the former grammar school, was dedicated to his honor. ["School to honor desegregation pioneer" By Leonel Sanchez, San Diego Union-Tribune, March 7, 2007 [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070307-9999-1m7alvarez.html] ] ["LEMON GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT DEDICATES AUDITORIUM TO CIVIL RIGHTS HERO ROBERTO ALVAREZ" Lemon Grove School District website announcement [http://lemongroveschools1.net/134110911102637220/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=274984&C=53681#] ]

In the decision, the judge ruled that children of Mexican origin could not be segregated under the laws of the state of California because they were "of the Caucasian race", and that as such, laws allowing the segregation of "Oriental", "Negro", and "Indian" children did not apply.

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