Authors’ “Field Trip” to Westminster: A Visit w/ Jessica Lander.
As the year 2026 begins, I’ve been reflecting on all the new friends I’ve made because of “The Kindness of Color.” Since October 2021, I’ve presented this history at 189 events, not counting interviews and phone calls, and met a lot of people who’ve become friends. Needless to say, not only does my book give testimony to life-giving trusted friendships, but I’m making more of them through this history!
“Kindness is…collaboration & building trusted friendships.” (pg.63)
One of those interviews was with Jessica Lander, an educator from Boston, MA. www.jessicalander.com. Jessica is the author of Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education.” She interviewed Sylvia Mendez and I for her book’s Chapter 4 where she featured Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al as a historical case study. Jessica is a very dedicated educator with experience in middle school, high school, and university classrooms in the US, Thailand, and Cambodia. Her passion for education is exemplary as she was awarded the 2023 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year and 2023 Top Ten National History Teachers of the Year presented by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
When our respective books were published, we exchanged signed copies and hoped to meet in person “one day.” I thought “Making Americans” might be a book just for educators but as I started to read it, I was totally engaged in learning about educational history, current situations, and the personal stories of immigrant students as they struggle for a solid education and hold hope for a better future. Jessica masterfully wove legal history, classroom case studies, and powerful testimonials that gave me insights into the reality of education in our immigrant, multi–ethnic and multi-cultural communities. So much like my book, this book blends hard history and inspirational “overcomer” stories that point the way forward. I highly recommend “Making Americans” for your 2026 reading list!
That zoom interview led to emails, status updates, and introducing Jessica to other Mendez case historians here in Orange County. One of those connections was another of my “book” friends, Annie Tang, Chapman University’s first University Archivist and the Chair of Special Collections & Archives. Annie was a 2022 recipient of The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship and her capstone project was a panel on Mendez, et al. v Westminster. Along with Dr. Jeff Hittenberger, Dean, Vanguard University School of Education and I, Annie invited Jessica to be a virtual panelist. Jessica’s experience and broad research added an important national dimension to the panel discussion. It was a great experience being a panelist with Jessica, but we still had not met yet in person!
Last fall, Jessica called saying she had a chance to fly from Boston to Denver for a conference and wondered if I was available to meet with her if she made a special trip to LA after the conference. A definite YES! When I asked her what she wanted to do when we met, she said she wanted to go to Westminster! Now locals have to admit that for most guests, Westminster is not high on their sightseeing list. Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Disneyland, South Coast Plaza are on the list, but not usually Westminster!
I mapped out a route to include Johnson Middle School, the site of our former farm, the Mendez Tribute Park, and the sites of the former Westminster “White” and Hoover “Mexican” schools. Then I called Johnson School to see if anyone could let us in to see the mural of my grandpa and dad - it's behind the fence facing into the school yard and not visible from outside the school. School was out of session with teachers and students on vacation, but the hardworking custodial staff would be on campus. I just had to find them through the fence when we arrived.
After a few years of trying, it was a delight to meet Jessica in person! Meeting at Johnson Middle School, and after finding the friendly and helpful custodial team (who were amazed that someone would fly from Boston to see their school), we made it onto the school grounds to see the mural.
Most times I’m explaining the story to visitors, but with Jessica, it was more the experience of being present and connecting the place with the history. I must admit it is quite a wonderful experience that someone from the other side of the country would take so much interest in our history and the land on which history was made!
Next stop was the Mendez Tribute Park www.mendeztributepark.org, just a mile away.
Again, since Jessica knew the history, it was more an experience of remembrance of what happened right here in Westminster, CA. Important history actually happened right here. She loved the statues of Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, lead plaintiffs of the case, as well as the delight of the schoolchildren eagerly off to school.
We viewed the panels that tell the story of the case as well as a photo of our family. Not sure why the Orange County Department of Education team chose a picture of our family with me as a baby with a curler in my hair, but they did! You definitely know that it wasn’t me that chose that picture!
I drove Jessica past the locations of the Seventeenth Street School (now a retirement community) and the Hoover School (now a City of Westminster Operations yard). They are just about .4 mile apart, but back in the 1930-40s, that short distance meant the difference between a K-8 school with an academic curriculum, good books, and fairly paid teachers and a segregated school with no academic curriculum, few books and poorly paid teachers. As a young 8 year old, Sylvia Mendez remembers that Hoover School also lacked lunch benches and a playground. And for the future of all those young Mexican children, it was the difference between having an education to get a better job or being stuck in farm work and manual labor jobs for the rest of their lives.
Our next stop was Chapman University, but before that we parked in Old Towne Orange and got tacos at Jalapenos, a favorite Mexican restaurant, to enhance Jessica’s quick visit to Orange County.
It’s quite an experience when 3 new friends get to meet in person for the first time and history brought us together. Annie Tang and the Chapman University Archives was our final stop. Annie had pulled key documents from the Archives for Jessica to see: the lease agreement signed by Gonzalo and my dad to lease our farm to them during WWII, my grandfather’s Dept. of Justice transfer papers that showed his release after being arrested and paroled, unjustly accused of being a spy for Japan, and even my dad’s WWII Arizona driver’s license with restrictions on where he could drive. Jessica took great interest in this documentation, stating that she was holding history right in her hands!
Visiting Annie Tang, University Archivist, Chapman University with Jessica Lander.
Our visit ended mid-afternoon so Jessica could get back to LA for a flight home to Boston, but we savored the time together, finally meeting in person and experiencing history right here! What fun and a blessing it was for me to spend the day with Jessica! I cherish these wonderful collaborators and friends, Annie and Jessica. Together, we are on the mission to share all of history!
Truly, Kindness is… collaboration and building trusted friendships! So grateful for Jessica to make the trip here and for Annie to give us her time and expertise too!
To take your own field trip to see the Mendez, et al. vs. Westminster sites, I’ve created this guide in Resources. Click here for the free download!
You can also visit the Mendez Tribute Park virtually here www.mendeztributepark.org
It has AR (augmented reality) links and recorded messages that describe the park and the case history. Very interactive and almost as good as an in-person visit!
In the Press
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn as we cultivate kindness together