A Decision:
A Group Effort
To combat the newfound segregation that their children faced, the parents of those kids formed El Comite de Vecinos de Lemon Grove, or The Lemon Grove Neighbors Committee. They tried to get all the help they could in trying to get the Lemon Grove School Board to change their mind, but the board stayed steadfast, saying that it was for their own good and that the "situation had reached emergency conditions" due to overcrowding and "sanitary and moral" issues had stemmed from the Mexican and Mexican American youth. Americanization schools like "La Caballeriza" for Mexican and Latinos were common during the 1930's, with many people having the same attitudes to children of working immigrants.
“Some Mexicans are very bright, but you cannot compare their brightest with the average white children.” —A superintendent of schools circa 1940.
Some parents went to the Mexican consul to try to garner help, and were lent the services of Fred Noon and A. C. Brinkley, attorneys from San Diego, CA. The Comité, with the assistance of the two attorneys, filed a suit against the Lemon Grove School Board on February 13, 1931. Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District was underway.
The Lawsuit
The trial began, and soon enough, the Lemon Grove School Board found themselves in the hot seat. When asked questions on why they wanted to segregate the Latinos from the whites, they said that the kids were not intelligent enough to be in the same school as the white children, stating the 'fact' that they could not speak English. They claimed that these kids were a barrier to their kids' educations with their 'lack of knowledge' However, most of the kids could, in fact, speak English, and this gave attention to how little the board members really knew about the Mexican pupils. The presiding Judge Chambers ruled in favor of Roberto Alvarez due to the children of Mexican descent being "of the Caucasian race" according to law.
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The Final Decision
Due to the risks of losing more money and receiving a bad public image, the Lemon Grove School Board decided not to appeal the judges' decision. At their next board meeting, the Lemon Grove Board discussed the case briefly. The only evidence of the topic were in notes from the meeting. It read: "All members of the board present. On account of having lost the court decision there was some discussion about the return of the Mexican pupils but only a spirit of good will prevailed, and it was decided that everything was to continue exactly as it did prior to January 5th." The ruling led to the re-entry of the students, and the relocation of all of their belongings that were misplaced.