Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Separate but equal-even primary grade students understand this prejudicial oxymoron.Separation is never equal. When the Lemon Grove School District's board of trustees decided to expel every one of the 75 students who were of Mexican American descent in order to establish an all-White student body, the Lemon Grove Neighbor's Committee-Comité de Vecinos de Lemon Grove-decided to take action. The Mexican consul in San Diego provided lawyers who filed on behalf of 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez in San Diego's California Superior Court. Exploding the board of trustees' assertion that the minority students were "backward and deficient," Roberto himself, in fluent English, defended his position. This was the "first successfully fought school desegregation case in the United States." On April 16, 1931, the decision was made public: "to immediately admit and receive…Roberto Alvarez, and all other pupils of Mexican parentage…without separation or segregation." Brimner's straightforward narrative follows Roberto Alvarez from his return to school after Christmas vacation only to be told he was no longer welcome to the day he was able to receive the same education as the White students. The substantial author's note places this case in context with other desegregation cases in the U.S.-particularly in California. Gonzalez's colorful and detailed mural-esque illustrations make the historical flavor of the times accessible.A critical contribution to discussions of equal access and of systemic racism. (photos, sources, source notes) (Informational picture book. 8-11)

ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

In Southern California in 1931, 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez and other Mexican American students were turned away from their school, where they had studied along with white children, and told to attend a new one, just built for them. Separated from some of his friends, Roberto was unhappy, and his Mexican American community opposed segregation. Two lawyers were willing to represent the students, and Roberto became the lead plaintiff in the case. The judge ruled that the school board had no authority to establish a separate school for Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Brimner, known for his excellent, detailed books for older kids on the civil rights movement during the 1950s and '60s, now addresses a younger audience with a simplified narrative in the main text, followed by a more complete account in the lengthy author's note. Gonzalez's richly colored illustrations, painted in acrylics, create a series of striking tableaux. Underscoring the importance of confronting discrimination, this picture book highlights a little-known court case that became a precedent for the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

Brimner (Finding a Way Home, rev. 1/21) narrates the events leading to the first successful school desegregation case, Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. In 1931, Mexican American parents in Lemon Grove, near San Diego, California, organized the Comite de Vecinos de Lemon Grove to resist the creation of the Olive Street School, a subpar school for Mexican American children. Brimner documents the machinations of Lemon Grove's white parents, teachers, and school district board members who, through secret meetings held months earlier, "voted to construct a separate school for children like Roberto and his friends." Gonzalez's double-page acrylic paintings enhance the narrative, particularly in this scene. Five primly dressed figures -- the illustration shows them cut off at the shoulders to emphasize their impersonality -- sit behind a table drafting the paperwork that accuses Mexican children of bad hygiene, of lacking English, and of holding back the white students. Gonzalez renders the Mexican American parents and students of the Comite with round brown faces, a signature of her aesthetic (My Colors, My World; Family Poems for Every Day of the Week, rev. 1/18; and others). An author's note, archival photos, and a bibliography append this work, which would pair well with Christy Hale's All Equal: A Ballad of Lemon Grove (rev. 11/19) and Duncan Tonatiuh's book about a similar case, Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation (rev. 7/14). Lettycia Terrones

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Separate but equal-even primary grade students understand this prejudicial oxymoron.Separation is never equal. When the Lemon Grove School District's board of trustees decided to expel every one of the 75 students who were of Mexican American descent in order to establish an all-White student body, the Lemon Grove Neighbor's Committee-Comité de Vecinos de Lemon Grove-decided to take action. The Mexican consul in San Diego provided lawyers who filed on behalf of 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez in San Diego's California Superior Court. Exploding the board of trustees' assertion that the minority students were "backward and deficient," Roberto himself, in fluent English, defended his position. This was the "first successfully fought school desegregation case in the United States." On April 16, 1931, the decision was made public: "to immediately admit and receive…Roberto Alvarez, and all other pupils of Mexican parentage…without separation or segregation." Brimner's straightforward narrative follows Roberto Alvarez from his return to school after Christmas vacation only to be told he was no longer welcome to the day he was able to receive the same education as the White students. The substantial author's note places this case in context with other desegregation cases in the U.S.-particularly in California. Gonzalez's colorful and detailed mural-esque illustrations make the historical flavor of the times accessible.A critical contribution to discussions of equal access and of systemic racism. (photos, sources, source notes) (Informational picture book. 8-11)

School Library Journal (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

Gr 4-6 When 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez and other Mexican and Mexican American students were turned away from their elementary school in Lemon Grove, California, and sent to an inferior school for students of Mexican descent, their parents and others in the community chose to fight back against this blatant discrimination. Their actions eventually led to a case brought before the Superior Court of California in San Diego. (The story somewhat confusingly states that Roberto himself brought the case to court, when in fact he was the lead plaintiff, represented by attorney Fred Noon, as stated in the author's note.) In April, 1931, the court ruled in favor of the students, who won the right to attend school with their white peers. Gonzalez's colorful and imaginative illustrations humanize the somewhat technical story. Though not as compellingly told as Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation , this nonetheless presents an important look at one of the cases that eventually led to the historic U. S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. The majority of the characters are depicted as Latinx, while the school principal and school board members present as white. Back matter includes historic photographs, a lengthy author's note, a bibliography, and source notes. VERDICT A recommended purchase for large collections; smaller collections would do well with just Separate Is Never Equal. Sue Morgan, Hillsborough Cty. Sch. Dist., Hillsborough, CA