Palomino family papers

Arturo, also known as Arthur, Palomino was born to Irene and Frank Palomino on August 21, 1933 in Westminster, CA. Arthur's father, Frank, was one of the plaintiffs in the 1946 Mendez v. Westminster case. At the time, the Palomino family lived in Santa Ana and resided in the Garden Grove School District. Arthur was eleven years old during the trial. His father testified that he went to one of the Garden Grove schools to ask the superintendent if he could enroll his children, Arthur and Sally. The superintendent told Frank that his children were of Mexican descent and were not allowed there. The superintendent told him he had to enroll them at the Hoover School, which was for children of Mexican descent. Frank decided to instead enroll them at integrated schools elsewhere. Arthur was enrolled into Fremont School, where his cousins attended. On October 6, 1962 Arthur married Beatrice Palomino and together they had three children. Arthur passed away on March 30, 2012.

The 1946 Mendez v. Westminster class action lawsuit is also known as Gonzalo Mendez, et al., Petitioners. vs Westminister [sic] School District of Orange County, et al., Respondents. The petitioners and their attorney, David Marcus, won their case against Mexican American school segregation in Orange County, CA in 1947.

The case’s petitioners were fathers and children from five Latin American families. They were Gonzalo Mendez and his children Sylvia, Gonzalo, and Geronimo; William Guzman and his son Billy; Frank Palomino and his children Arthur and Sally; Thomas Estrada and his children Clara, Roberto, Francisco, Syria, Daniel and Evelina; and Lorenzo Ramirez and his children Ignacio, Silverio and Jose.

The case’s respondents were four Orange County school districts and their administrators. They included Westminster School District of Orange County’s Trustees J. A. Houlihan, Lewis Conrady, and Ray Schmitt, as well as Superintendent J. Harris. For Garden Grove Elementary School District of Orange County, they included Trustees William C. Noble, Robert B. Smith and Paul Applebury, as well as Superintendent James L. Kent. For Santa Ana City Schools, they included Board of Education members George R. Wells, Hiram M. Currey, James K. Givens, Daniel W. Stover and George J. Busdieker, as well as Superintendent Frank A. Henderson and Secretary Harold Yost. For El Modeno [sic] School District, they included Trustees Henry Campbell, Theodore Hower, Clarence Johnson, and Superintendent Harold Hammarsten.