Before Brown v. Board of Education : Paul J. McCormick, the Mendez v. Westminster Decision, and its Religious-Social Context

Abstract

Abstract: Paul J. McCormick (1879–1960), judge of the United States District Court of Los Angeles, rendered in 1945 the most impactful decision of his career. His decision in Mendez v. Westminster was the prelude to the civil rights movement in the United States. McCormick's Catholic faith and his relationship with the immigrant community in Los Angeles influenced his opinion. Nearly a decade before Brown v. Board of Education , McCormick delivered a verdict favoring Mexican families seeking equality in education. His decision favoring the desegregation of schools in southern California marked the beginning of the end of school segregation throughout the United States. This study of the decision's religious and social contexts shows how Mendez v. Westminster complicates the historical narrative of racial desegregation.