Written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh 

Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh tells the story dating back to the 1940s when segregation based on race or national origin was common throughout the United States.  The Mendez v. Westminster School District case paved the way for the desegregation of schools in America.  After the Mendez lawsuit, similar suits were filed and won in both Texas and Arizona.  In 1954, seven years after the Mendez victory, the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education desegregated schools throughout the entire country.  

This book sheds a different light on the topic of multicultural children’s literature that solely focuses on heroes such as MLK, Rosa Parks, or Cesar Chavez. Tonatiuh calls attention to the more ‘unknown’ aspects of Latinx history of  in the United States and Latinx activism.  Not only does this book show the role of Latinx people in the Civil Rights Movement, but it focuses on the role of a young woman in fighting discrimination and racism.  In fact, there are MANY ways that this book tackles topics such as segregation, inequality, injustice, the Civil Rights Movement, and activism, to name a few.

I believe that this book belongs in all classrooms.  Below I have attached an Educator’s Guide to Separate Is Never Equal which plans out various lesson plans and activities to help guide your students through this book. 

Separate Is Never Equal This is a link to the book on Epic! 

EDUCATOR’S GUIDE This is an educators guide that was written to support using Tonatiuh’s Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation in the classroom.  It was created by someone from the University of New Mexico.  This resource has given teachers a great guide which includes applicable Common Core State Standards, classroom relevance and applications, lesson plans, and much more!