A Class Apart
A Class Apart In 1848, the Mexican-American War ended. The United States’ victory resulted in them now having ownership of large amounts of Mexican territory. Many of the residents were offered American citizenship in which they thought meant they would now be treated equally; they were wrong. In gaining United States citizenship, Mexican Americans lost land and status to American laws. Then, after the Civil War many whites began moving to Texas. Along with them, they brought their racial social code that used to apply to blacks and began applying it to Mexican Americans.
Hispanics were being seen as unintelligent, second rate and invisible. They were heavily discriminated against in schools, courthouses, restaurants, and even funeral parlors.
During World War II, 300,000 Mexican Americans served their country in hopes that they would gain the rights they deserved. When they returned nothing had changed. Latinos lawyers and activists realized that real change with Mexican Americans would only happen if they were recognized by the 14th Amendment. They would then have to bring a case to the Supreme Court. This is where the case of Hernandez vs. Texas becomes relevant in 1951.
A man by the name of Pedro Hernandez murdered his employer after getting in an argument. This incident resulted in Hernandez’s mother asking Gus Garcia to defend her son. Garcia focus in challenging the Jim-Crow style discrimination was whether Hernandez would receive a fair trial with an all-Anglo jury.
Garcia put together a team of lawyers who argued on Hernandez’s behalf. This was the first time a Mexican American appeared before the Supreme Court. His lawyers used a strategy called “a class apart” which meant that Mexican Americans did not fit the legal structure that recognized only black or white Americans.
Many Latinos across the country supported this case. They would offer their crumbled dollars and coins to Hernandez’s lawyers whenever they saw them. On January
Hispanics were being seen as unintelligent, second rate and invisible. They were heavily discriminated against in schools, courthouses, restaurants, and even funeral parlors.
During World War II, 300,000 Mexican Americans served their country in hopes that they would gain the rights they deserved. When they returned nothing had changed. Latinos lawyers and activists realized that real change with Mexican Americans would only happen if they were recognized by the 14th Amendment. They would then have to bring a case to the Supreme Court. This is where the case of Hernandez vs. Texas becomes relevant in 1951.
A man by the name of Pedro Hernandez murdered his employer after getting in an argument. This incident resulted in Hernandez’s mother asking Gus Garcia to defend her son. Garcia focus in challenging the Jim-Crow style discrimination was whether Hernandez would receive a fair trial with an all-Anglo jury.
Garcia put together a team of lawyers who argued on Hernandez’s behalf. This was the first time a Mexican American appeared before the Supreme Court. His lawyers used a strategy called “a class apart” which meant that Mexican Americans did not fit the legal structure that recognized only black or white Americans.
Many Latinos across the country supported this case. They would offer their crumbled dollars and coins to Hernandez’s lawyers whenever they saw them. On January