  | Without separation : prejudice, segregation, and the case of Roberto Alvarez Author: Brimner, Larry Dane | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
This important yet little-known civil rights story focuses on Roberto Alvarez, a student whose 1931 court battle against racism and school segregation in Lemon Grove, California, is considered the first time an immigrant community used the courts to successfully fight injustice.
| Illustrator: | Gonzalez, Maya Christina |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.70 Points: .5 Quiz: 518118 |
Reviews:
School Library Journal (10/01/21)
Booklist (09/15/21)
The Hornbook (00/11/21)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 09/15/2021 In Southern California in 1931, 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez and other Mexican American students were turned away from their school, where they had studied along with white children, and told to attend a new one, just built for them. Separated from some of his friends, Roberto was unhappy, and his Mexican American community opposed segregation. Two lawyers were willing to represent the students, and Roberto became the lead plaintiff in the case. The judge ruled that the school board had no authority to establish a separate school for Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Brimner, known for his excellent, detailed books for older kids on the civil rights movement during the 1950s and ’60s, now addresses a younger audience with a simplified narrative in the main text, followed by a more complete account in the lengthy author’s note. Gonzalez’s richly colored illustrations, painted in acrylics, create a series of striking tableaux. Underscoring the importance of confronting discrimination, this picture book highlights a little-known court case that became a precedent for the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 10/01/2021 Gr 4–6—When 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez and other Mexican and Mexican American students were turned away from their elementary school in Lemon Grove, California, and sent to an inferior school for students of Mexican descent, their parents and others in the community chose to fight back against this blatant discrimination. Their actions eventually led to a case brought before the Superior Court of California in San Diego. (The story somewhat confusingly states that Roberto himself brought the case to court, when in fact he was the lead plaintiff, represented by attorney Fred Noon, as stated in the author's note.) In April, 1931, the court ruled in favor of the students, who won the right to attend school with their white peers. Gonzalez's colorful and imaginative illustrations humanize the somewhat technical story. Though not as compellingly told as Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation, this nonetheless presents an important look at one of the cases that eventually led to the historic U. S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. The majority of the characters are depicted as Latinx, while the school principal and school board members present as white. Back matter includes historic photographs, a lengthy author's note, a bibliography, and source notes. VERDICT A recommended purchase for large collections; smaller collections would do well with just Separate Is Never Equal.—Sue Morgan, Hillsborough Cty. Sch. Dist., Hillsborough, CA - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
