Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

 

Title: Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her family's fight for desegregation

Author & Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh

Link to purchase: Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez... book by Duncan Tonatiuh

Grades- 2nd-5th

Link to teacher resource: Book Activities for "Separate is Never Equal" by Patricia Williams

Element 3: Issues of Social Injustice

summary:

    Separate Is Never Equal is the true story of Sylvia Mendez, a young Mexican American girl who helped eliminate school segregation in California about a decade before Brown v. Board of Education. In the 1940s, Sylvia and her brothers attempted to enroll in the local public school in Westminster, California, but were told they had to attend the "Mexican school," a separate, old school with fewer resources. Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, Sylvia's parents, refused to accept the injustice. They formed and launched a lawsuit against multiple school systems, saying that segregation was unjust and illegal.

   The book describes Sylvia's journey as she experiences discrimination and learns the value of standing up for equality. Duncan Tonatiuh's unusual illustration style, which is inspired by ancient Mixtec art, acknowledges Sylvia's Mexican ancestry while vividly expressing the bravery of the families that struggled for change. Through Sylvia's story, kids can learn that regular people, even children, can make a significant difference in the battle for justice and fairness.

connection to social injustice:

    This book represents social justice since it focuses on confronting systematic inequality and advocating for equal access to education. It demonstrates how ordinary people, particularly immigrants and people of color, may use collective action to challenge discriminatory systems. The narrative teaches children that fairness is not guaranteed and that speaking out against discrimination can lead to long-term change. It supports the goals of social justice education by encouraging students to consider themselves as people who can make change.

classroom use:

Read-Aloud and Introduction: We can start by reading the book aloud to the students. When Sylvia is denied admittance to a "whites-only" school, ask leading questions such as "How would you feel?" What do you suppose Sylvia's parents are thinking? We can ask questions to help the students really understand what Sylvia went through.

Element 3 - Issues of Social Injustice

Element 3 : Issues of Social Injustice

Something Happened In Our Town - A Child's Story About Racial Injustice

Written by: Marianne Celano and Marietta Collins

Illustrated by : Jennifer Zivoin

Link to purchase : Bookshop.org

Teacher Resource Link : Teaching Books

Summary of Book

The story begins with, "Something bad happened in our town,” after a Black man is shot in a police shooting. The adults believe the children don’t know, but they overhear the news. Emma, who is white, and Josh, who is Black, ask their parents to help them understand.  Emma’s mother tells her it was a mistake, while her sister argues the man was shot because he is Black. This leads to a conversation explaining that even though slavery ended, discrimination, unfair laws, and treatment still exist, and that white people still have certain advantages. Emma learns that being fair means treating everyone equally and standing up when something is wrong.  Josh asks if the police officer will go to jail. His mother says he might, but sometimes police don’t. His brother explains that officers often protect each other, especially if the person hurt is Black. His father talks about deeper systemic issues and racial injustices. Josh’s parents tell him to be proud of who he is and that he can help make change by being brave, kind, and fair.  The next day at school, Emma and Josh meet a new student who is different from them. Other classmates make fun of the student, but Emma and Josh remember what their families taught them and choose to include the student, showing that small acts of kindness can make the community more equal.

                                                          How it represents Element 3

This story represents element 3, issues of social injustice, because it teaches children about a major social injustice issue, Racial Injustice.  The story shows the differences in how a white family sees the issue of a black man being shot by police compared to how a black family sees it, but ends with both children understanding what racial inequality is and how they can help make a difference by being fair and kind. It gives insight into the fact that children do understand what is happening when they hear about things like this on the news or just hear others talking about it, and the best choice as a parent is to give the child insight and explain to them these social injustices and what they can do to be apart of change.  It also gives tips in the back of the book for parents or educators to have a conversation with their children or students about social injustice and racism and other tough topics.  

How I would use it in my future classroom

This is definitely a story I want to share with my future students in my future classroom to spread the books message.  I think this story would be best for grades 1-6 ages 6-12 years old.  I find that this range works well as the story's language and illustrations makes it very accessible and easier for children to understand.  While the topics are deep, it's written in a way for children to understand and be able to learn from and open up conversations.  I would want to do an activity after reading this book to my students, I would have the students identify examples of fairness and unfairness then come together to brainstorm ways they could make their classroom more inclusive.  Especially during this time in the world, it's very crucial for children to be aware of social injustices.  

Grenade By Alan Gratz

 

Grenade by Alan Gratz 

Book design by Nina Goffi 

Element 3: Issues of Social Injustice 

Link to teacher review: https://teacherbees.ca/grenade/ 

Summary: Grenade by Alan Gratz is about the invasion and battle of Okinawa during World War II in 1945. This book is interesting as it provides two different perspectives from characters involved in the war: Ray who is a new young American solider and Hideki a native Okinawan that was forcibly drafted by the Japanese Army into the Blood and Iron Student Corps. In telling this story from both perspectives, readers are able to understand the true nature of what war does to humanity. Both soldiers and civilians are forced to undergo extreme suffering and in both sides of this battle each opposing side paints the other as a monsters and having the urgency to fight to defend themselves. On the other hand, readers also see the humanistic side of soldiers when not in battle. The message that this book is revealing throughout the novel is that war turns men into monsters when controlled by fear even if they were doing normal jobs before.

Link to purchase: https://bookshop.org/p/books/grenade-alan-gratz/db03b0433c3c4e15?ean=9781338245691&next=t    

Grenade relates to the element 3 of social justice education "Issues of Social Injustice," by having the focus of the book being on the destructive and indiscriminate consequences of war on civilians. The novel emphasizes how the native Okinawan people are caught in the cross fire between the American and Japanese forces, this further spotlights how larger conflicts can create unforeseen injustices towards indigenous and civilian populations. Additionally this book also focuses on the traumatic experiences of both Ray and Hideki. It linked the historical event of World War II to its direct, personal impacts on individual experiences and the suffering and psychological effects of war.   

My lesson idea for this book would be having my students write a story from a character's perspective from the novel. This lesson would also help students learn how to write in a structure of a letter. This is similar to a letter because it helps them know how to format an email. Furthermore, this activity also helps student understand the viewpoints of war from different sides. I would use this book in a 6th grade social studies class. 

Rocket Says Speak Up!

Rocket Says Speak Up!

Written by: Nathan Bryon

Illustrated by: Dapo Adeola

Element 4: Social Movements and Change

Link to purchase: Penguin Random House    

Teacher Resource

Summary:

This book is about a young girl named Rocket protesting the closing of her town's library due to the lack of funding. With her friends and family, she leads a peaceful protest to protect the library and raises money to keep it open. She reaches out all over her town to spread awareness of the closing.

Connection to Social Movement & Change:

This book relates to this element because it portrays the right to protest and freedom of speech. Rocket made a change in her community by speaking out against the closure of the library; without her pride of movement, the book would have ended differently. This is a good start to teach young students to use their voice when they believe something should be done. Also, the book highlights the importance of working together and how it can cause an impact.

Classroom Idea: (Grade Levels: 3rd Grade)

The students can create a mini protest of their own about something in school. For example, the students can protest about wanting more recess or lunch time to eat. The students can create little posters to hang around the hallways. They can also make a petition to be signed by other classmates, along with asking the morning announcers to advocate in the morning announcements of their issue.