John Aguilar, Jr.
REWRITE
000716167
The Lemon Grove Incident: How and Why Did It Come To Pass?
The 1930’s proved to be a time when racist policies and ideologies were common and
part of everyday life in the United States. During the Great Depression, economic pressure
caused many Anglo-Americans to become concerned about the “Mexican Problem”, exemplified
by President Herbert Hoover’s administration’s scapegoating of Mexican migrant workers in part
for the lack of available employment opportunities.
On January 6, 1931, Secretary of Labor William N. Doak requested funds from Congress
to deport illegal Mexican immigrants. Doak claimed that approximately 400,000 illegal
immigrants resided in the country. Some government officials adopted the view that deporting
Mexicans, even those who were American citizens, would be “doing Mexico a favor.”, by
bringing “the gift of American civilization to their less civilized relatives south of the border.”
Another common viewpoint was that the repatriation process would be a healthy “weeding out”
of undesirables.1 In all, around half a million Mexicans and American-born descendants of
Mexican background would be sent to Mexico via deportation.2
The California Senate followed suit by proposing a bill that would make it illegal for
undocumented immigrants to seek employment or engage in business, making it a misdemeanor
offense for an American citizen to have a business partner who was an “alien.”3 Legislation
would prevent aliens from working on public works projects and Anglo employers did not
1
Rodolfo Acuña, 2007, Corridors of Migration: The Odyssey of Mexican Laborers, 1600-1933, Tucson, AZ:
University of Arizona Press, p.230
2
Robert R. Alvarez, Jr., “The Lemon Grove Incident: The Nation’s First Successful Desegregation Court Case.” San
Diego Historical Society Quarterly Spring 1986, Volume 32, Number 2
3
Acuña, 2007, Corridors of Migration, p.228
1
distinguish between Mexican American citizens and their Mexican-born brethren.4
Discrimination was not limited to employment and business. California law allowed for separate
schools for Blacks, Native Americans and Asians. In an organized effort to segregate Mexicans
who were born on either side of the border from Anglos, January 19, 1931 saw Assemblyman
George R. Bliss introduce a bill, which would reclassify Mexicans and Mexican-Americans as
Indian, changing their official status from that of Caucasian. As a school board member,
Assemblyman Bliss had already succeeded in creating a segregated school by stating that it was
an “Indian school”.5
Enter Lemon Grove, California, a rural town with fertile soil, growing lemons and
oranges as its primary crops. The city grew around the railroad tracks which connected it to the
rest of the country. Like most California communities with an ethnically diverse population,
Lemon Grove became residentially segregated as new arrivals moved into concentrated areas and
formed ethnocentric neighborhoods. Growing off of Olive Street, the Mexican Barrio in Lemon
Grove was the direct result of chain immigration as settlers and their relatives and friends
emigrated from Baja California, first fleeing the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and later seeking
employment during the 1920’s.6 Mexican workers contributed significantly to the city’s
industries, primarily by providing manual labor. They worked in the rock quarry, the
packinghouses and the citrus orchards. Despite their positive contributions, Mexican families
would still be treated with contempt and discriminated against on a local level.7
On July 23, 1930, the Lemon Grove School Board met at the request of the local
Parent/Teacher Association (PTA), together with a representative of the Chamber of Commerce
4
Matt S. Meier, Feliciano Ribera, 1993, Mexican Americans, American Mexicans: From Conquistadors to
Chicanos. New York: Hill and Wang, p.149-150
5
Acuña, 2007, Corridors of Migration, p.229
6
Alvarez, Jr., “The Lemon Grove Incident”
7
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
2
to pass a resolution to segregate Mexican students from Anglo-American students. At the time,
the Golden Avenue School (Lemon Grove’s only elementary school) was overcrowded, having a
little less than 200 students enrolled. Referring to the overcrowding as “severe”, the school
board’s concerns were that the swollen student body was causing “emergency” problems such as
overflowing toilets and a “deterioration of sanitation and morals” due to the presence of Mexican
students. Members of the school board also cited how Mexican students who were not proficient
in English were slowing down the pace of the curriculum at the expense of the other students.8
The Chamber of Commerce had invested heavily in advertisements and publicity in an
effort to boost Lemon Grove’s reputation and attract desirable new residents and investors. They
insisted that Lemon Grove needed to segregate students in order to become a successful city by
providing whites with the security of separate public schools for their children. Following a
typical racist view which was predominant at the time, the argument was made that because the
Mexicans “live together, work together and have their own parties”, they would welcome the
idea of segregation in schools.9 Every effort was being made to establish the inferiority of
Mexicans to their Anglo counterparts.
Principal Jerome T. Green attempted to persuade the school board to notify parents
before opening the new school building, which was actually nothing more than a renovated barn
turned into two classrooms. Two teachers, one a senior faculty member (Mrs. Catherine Elliot,
who was soon to retire) and a teacher with only one year’s experience, were to teach eight grades
between them in the new school.10 Principal Green’s efforts were undermined, however, and the
school was opened without any prior notification to the parents. The Lemon Grove School board
8
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
10
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
9
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had decided to avoid committing their decision to writing, as they feared it would indeed serve to
anger the parents of the students.11
On the first day the new school was opened, the Mexican children were separated from
the Anglo children and instructed to attend the new school. Such was the state of the Olive Street
School that it was nicknamed “La Caballeriza”, which translates from Spanish to a barn or
stable.12 No discernment was made for Mexican children who were born in the United States or
who spoke English fluently. Later that night, after the children informed the parents of what had
occurred, a meeting was held in the Mexican community and the Neighborhood Association of
Lemon Grove (NALG) was founded.13
The question of why the Mexican and Mexican-American parents of the Lemon Grove
community decided to stand up for their children’s rights, at a time when they were facing
intense discrimination, is a sophisticated and complex one. The phenomena of second-generation
acculturation can help to provide an answer. Those Mexican immigrants who had grown up in
the United States as well as those Mexican-American children, who grew up speaking English,
were more politically attuned to their civil rights. They viewed themselves as Americans as well
as Mexicans and expected more from American society than their parents had, and “as a result,
the 1930’s saw an upsurge in civil rights activism”. These were Americans who were actively
seeking just treatment, rather than remain silent victims. This trend would grow as secondgeneration Mexican Americans combined the struggle for equality in education with that of
workers’ rights.14
11
Alvarez, Jr., “The Lemon Grove Incident”
Chapter 7: La Lucha: The beginnings of the Struggle, 1920-30s,
http://aztlan.sdsu.edu/chicanohistory/chapter07/c07s02.html
13
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
14
Meier, p.219
12
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Inferior schools and teachers were a part of the process of oppressing Mexican
Americans. Language and cultural differences were emphasized and used as a basis for
discrimination in both social and institutional settings. “Mexican schools were notoriously
shabby, overcrowded, poorly staffed, and underfinanced.” The Lemon Grove Incident would
become the first successful challenge to the inferiority of these types of schools.15
While most of the parents felt empowered by their value to the city of Lemon Grove as
workers and citizens, some of them were concerned that they would be fired by their Anglo
employers and replaced by the “Okies”.16 The hard economic times presented a genuine financial
threat to them. The association moved forward with their decision to keep their children home
from school until the segregation was ended. The desire for equal treatment under the law was a
major factor in the parents’ decision to oppose the school board’s actions. According to
California law, there was no legal precedent to segregate Mexicans from Anglos in schools. The
school board was effectively breaking the law by requiring Mexican students to attend their own
school based on the concept of race. The Mexican parents of Lemon Grove did not want their
children sent to a second-rate school, which they knew, would be underfunded and understaffed.17
Some of the parents were threatened with deportation and loss of welfare benefits (if
applicable). In fact, David Ruiz’s family, including five of his brothers who were all born in the
United States, were deported as a result of his mother’s refusal to send them to the Olive Street
school.18 As a result of these strong-arm tactics, the Lemon Grove parents went to the Mexican
Consulate for help. Jess Gonzalez’s father was a friend of an American attorney who worked at
15
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
17
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
18
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
16
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the Mexican Consulate named Fred C. Noon. Battling the media’s portrayal of them as “parents
on strike”, the NALG convinced Consul Enrique Ferreira to lend them the legal assistance of Mr.
Noon in support of their cause. Consul Ferreira agreed to assist the NALG because the Mexican
government was concerned with the quality of education of both Mexican-born and MexicanAmerican children within the United States, in light of the widespread prejudice against and
scapegoating of ethnically Mexican people.19
Prior to the court hearing to determine the status of the Lemon Grove segregation, Andy
Anderson, chairman of the Lemon Grove School Board, in a blatant attempt to denigrate the
parents of the NALG, told a journalist that he believed that “other Mexicans, possibly
headquartered in Mexico itself”, were instructing the Mexican parents of Lemon Grove to act. In
fact, the Lemon Grove Mexican community was acting autonomously. While some members
were Mexican immigrants, others were Americans of Mexican descent simply asserting
themselves as Americans and demanding recognition of their civil rights.20
On July 23, 1930, many details were revealed regarding the Lemon Grove case in the
court hearing. Students who were already fluent in English, born in the United States and who
did not speak any Spanish at all had been assigned to the Olive Street School, debunking the
claim that they needed to be “Americanized”. The School Board’s claims that crossing the
railroad tracks to get to school was a safety hazard was also proven to be manufactured, as
students both white and Mexican had to cross the tracks to get to either school. Finally, a teacher
admitted that white students who were falling behind in their studies were not being reassigned
to the Olive Street School for remedial instruction. The presiding Judge Claude Chambers
returned with the decision to end the Lemon Grove segregation based on the fact that Mexicans
19
20
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
6
were considered to be of the Caucasian race, which the laws of the United States did not allow to
be segregated from Anglo students, who are also Caucasian. The Mexican children who needed
to learn English would benefit from the presence of American children, becoming Americanized
through exposure to them.21
Although the Mexican families of the Lemon Grove community had won their battle
against segregation in their local schools, California continued to allow the segregation of
Asians, Negroes and Native Americans. Outside of Lemon Grove, other cases of segregation
occurred against Mexican students. Robert Alvarez, son of Roberto Alvarez, stated, “Lot of folks
say they won the case because they were white. They won because they stood up and fought for
their rights.” Alvarez went on to emphasize that “separate but equal” was a part of the Southwest
and in his opinion, the entire United States. 22
In the battle against school segregation, the Lemon Grove case set a precedent that would
assist in future successes. Mendez v. Westminster was heard on February 18, 1946. The outcome
ended official sanction of school segregation of Mexicans and those of Latin descent in the entire
state of California, on the basis that California law did not provide for segregation of Mexicans
or Latinos. The Anderson Bill was then signed into law on June 14, 1947. The last of
California’s school segregation laws, Codes 8003 and 8004 of the California Education Code
were thus repealed. Astonishingly, segregation in California continued to be practiced
unofficially until the 1980’s. Following Brown v. Bd. of Ed II (1955), Crawford v. Los Angeles
Board of Ed in 1963 (settled in 1982) established that the state was indeed able to require the
21
Espinosa, The Lemon Grove Incident
Leonel Sanchez, ‘Lemon Grove Incident’ Remembered 80 Years Later, Lemon Grove Patch,
http://lemongrove.patch.com/articles/lemon-grove-incident-remembered-80-years-later
22
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bussing in [of students] as a reliable means in order to desegregate schools, helping to prevent
segregation via district lines.23
Through the Lemon Grove Incident we see that institutional discrimination was not
limited to the old South. California and other southwestern states used discriminatory “separate
but equal” practices as well. The Mexican parents of Lemon Grove were aware of the law and of
their rights as Americans. They stood up and fought against injustice. The Lemon Grove case is a
turning point in California’s battle against racial discrimination and is an important part of the
fabric of today’s society.
(Word Count = 2316)
23
http://sshl.ucsd.edu/brown/timeline.html, (accessed on April 26, 2013)
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Bibliography24
Primary Sources
1. "Schools Appeal Court Ruling on Segregation." Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File), Mar
29, 1946.
http://ezproxy.csusm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/165669366?ac
countid=10363. (accessed on April 14, 2013)
2. “Strike is Ended At Alien School.” The San Diego Union, January 10, 1931.
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iwsearch/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX&p_theme=a
hnp&p_nbid=C6BE5DHYMTM2NjMzMTU1OS4xNzAwNTI6MToxMzoxNDQuMzcu
OTMuMTMy&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=3&d_viewref=search&p_query
name=3&p_docnum=4&p_docref=v2:136E6A0F0DF56B38@EANX13AA0F29E5B7F960@2426352-13A324B0E076B231@17-13B00443899DA3B0.
(Accessed April 15, 2013)
Secondary Sources
1. Acuña, Rodolfo. 2007. Corridors of Migration: The Odyssey of Mexican Laborers, 16001933. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press.
2. Alvarez, Jr., Robert R., “The Lemon Grove Incident: The Nation’s First Successful
Desegregation Court Case.” San Diego Historical Society Quarterly., Spring 1986,
Volume 32, Number 2
3. Espinosa, Paul. The Lemon Grove Incident. Television. Frank Christopher. 1985. PBS
Broadcast.
4. Meier, Matt S., Feliciano Ribera. 1993. Mexican Americans, American
Mexicans: from Conquistadors to Chicanos. New York: Hill and Wang.
5. Sanchez, Leonel., “‘Lemon Grove Incident’ Remembered 80 Years
Later.” Lemon Grove Patch,
http://lemongrove.patch.com/articles/lemon-grove-incident-remembered-80-years-later.
(Accessed on April 12, 2013)
6. “Brown v. Board of Education Timeline”. http://sshl.ucsd.edu/brown/timeline.html. (Accessed
on April 26, 2013)
24
Special Note: under the Secondary Source List, Entries 1, 4, and 7 are new additions to the bibliography. The
original Secondary Sources of “Chapter 7: La Lucha: The Beginnings of the Struggle, 1920-30s”, previously listed
as #5, and “Lemon Grove History Project, previously listed as #6, have been removed.
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