The City of Westminster, in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE), will host a grand opening ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 1 to celebrate the completion of a new park and monument honoring the historic Mendez v. Westminster case, which led to the desegregation of California’s public schools 75 years ago.

The event, free and open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m. at 7371 Westminster Blvd., where community leaders and special guest dignitaries will deliver welcoming remarks and officially open Mendez Tribute Monument Park to the community with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

“We’re excited and honored to have built the first public space that commemorates this landmark civil rights case,” said City Manager Christine Cordon.     

Located on the northeast corner of Westminster Boulevard and Olive Street, Mendez Tribute Monument Park will prominently feature statues of two parents — Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez — who were at the heart of the famed civil rights case. Nearby will be sculpted figures of students holding books to symbolize the 5,000 children represented in the legal action that laid the foundation for the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision. The statues were crafted by internationally renowned sculptor Ignacio Gomez, whose work is featured in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. In addition, the landscaped, quarter-acre park will feature a large, inscribed textbook monument and interpretive panels with insight on the case, the historical figures who were involved, and its far-reaching impacts.

Read the media release here: Park honoring historic Mendez v. Westminster case to open on Dec. 1

Event Parking will be available in lot located at the north west corner of Olive St. and Plaza. St.