The federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles will be formally named Wednesday in honor of civil rights trailblazers Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez.
The Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez U.S. Courthouse is named for the family that fought alongside the Ramirez, Estrada, Guzman and Palomino families in the landmark 1947 federal case Mendez v. Westminster that led to the end of segregation in California schools. The case laid the groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education, which desegregated schools nationwide.
The building is the first federal courthouse in U.S. history named after a Latina, according to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
In 1946, the court ruled that the segregation of Mexican American students was unlawful, marking one of the first successful federal challenges to school segregation.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling in 1947. The case also drew national attention, including an amicus brief filed by civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall, who would later argue Brown v. Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in front of the courthouse, followed by a naming ceremony at 4 p.m. in the ceremonial courtroom of the newly named courthouse at 350 W. First St.