''Francisco Maestas et al. vs. George H. Shone et al.'' was a school desegregation case in Colorado involving Latino children in the early 20th Century. Filed in the Colorado district court, 12th district, in 1912 by Francisco Maestas against the Alamosa School District Superintendent and Board of Education in 1913, the case precedes '' Del Rio ISD v. Salvatierra'' by sixteen years, ''Alvarez v. Lemon Grove'' by seventeen years and ''

Mendez v. Westminster ''Mendez, ''et al'' v. Westminister icSchool District of Orange County, et al'', 64 F.Supp. 544 (S.D. Cal. 1946), ''aff'd'', 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947) (en banc), was a 1947 federal court case that challenged Mexican remedial schools in four dist ...

'' by thirty-three years. The court ruled in favor of Maestas and the other Latino families. Though quickly forgotten afterward, it is considered one of the earliest known court victories involving Latinos against educational segregation.

Background

Francisco Maestas, his wife Margaret, and their children Miguel and Josie, lived at 117 Ross Avenue in

Alamosa, Colorado Alamosa is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,806 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colora ...

. Maestas worked as a

foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...

for the

Denver & Rio Grande Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

. This required the younger Maestas to cross active

railroad tracks A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

, to attend the "Mexican Preparatory School," located at Ninth Street and Ross Avenue, something his railroad worker father thought was dangerous. In September 1913, Maestas tried to enroll his son at the school closer to his home, the North Side School, located at Bell Avenue and Main Street. The request was refused and he was told that ten-year-old Miguel had to attend the "Mexican School." In 1909, the Alamosa district built the Mexican Preparatory School (aka Mexican School) to serve the large number of

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

families that had moved to the Alamosa and the

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It co ...

because of work on the railroad. In 1912, the school district mandated that all Mexican American children attend the school to prepare them to join the high school as English speakers. Many of the families were "

Hispanos Hispanos (from es, adj. prefix Hispano- relating to Spain, from la, Hispānus) are Hispanic residents of the United States who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers in the areas which were once part of New Spain ...

," descended of families that had lived in the area from the time of the initial Spanish settlements. They were

United States citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

, and could speak English. The school district divided the city's children as "Mexican" and "American", in spite of their language ability. Because of this, Maestas and other members of the Mexican-American community filed a discrimination lawsuit, aided by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver The Archdiocese of Denver ( la, Archidiœcesis Denveriensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses northern Colorado. It is part of the XIII Conference Region and includes 113 parishes, 3 ...

and the Sociedad Protectiva de Trabajadores Unidos (SPMDTU). To protest the disparate treatment, Mexican-American parents pulled their children out of school.

District court decision

District Court judge Charles C. Holbrook presided over the case. In March 1914 a ruling of unlawful race prejudice was delivered. Holbrook ordered the school board and superintendent "to admit the children to the public school most convenient to their homes." Holbrook further ruled that "in the opinion of the court... the only way to destroy this feeling of discontent and bitterness which has recently grown up, is to allow all children so prepared, to attend the school nearest them."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maestas V. Shone 20th-century American trials Public education in Colorado Legal history of Colorado 1914 in Colorado Civil rights movement case law 1914 in education School segregation in the United States United States school desegregation case law

Background

District court decision

See also

References

Further reading

External links