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Gomez’s bill to name the Los Angeles Federal Courthouse after Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez was signed into law earlier this year

You can watch Rep. Gomez’s remarks HERE.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Representative Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) delivered House floor remarks honoring the newly named Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Courthouse in Los Angeles. Rep. Gomez officially entered his remarks into the Congressional Record to preserve the legacy of the Mendez, Guzman, Palomino, Estrada, and Ramirez families’ historic fight against school segregation in California, which paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education.

Rep. Gomez’s bill to rename the Los Angeles federal courthouse after Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez was signed into law earlier this year, making it the first federal courthouse named after a Latina.

Below are Rep. Gomez’s remarks as delivered:

“Federal courthouses are usually named after judges, but history and the law are not just shaped by those who make decisions—they are molded by the people who have the courage to challenge unjust laws.

“In 1946, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez joined with the Guzman, Palomino, and Estrada families to challenge segregation in California public schools—and won, leading California to officially ban school segregation.

“My bill was signed earlier this year into law to name the Los Angeles Federal Courthouse in downtown LA in honor of Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez—the first to be named after a Latina, which will stand as a monument to the bravery of these families, and as a reminder that separate is never equal.”