EDUCATION from V8


citizens determined segregation had no place in their community. A preliminary injunction from the


The policy changed when a group of


U.S. District Court in 1951 directed the school to integrate immediately. It was the fi rst such lawsuit entered in Ari- zona — three years before the famous Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education. One of the district’s elementary schools was named after Porfi rio Gon- zales, who was the lead plaintiff in the case. Now, a tribute panel sits in front of the campus to honor everyone involved. Part of it reads: “This memorial is dedicated to all the brave individuals that fought with great courage and humility to bring an end to the segregation of the Tolleson Elementary Schools. They believed in the spirit of the United States Constitution, that all children will be afforded the right to a truly equal education. Their legacy is a fi rm re- minder that the fi ght for social justice continues.”


— Emily McCann V10 Vista — West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona Spring/Summer 2012


An undated photo from sometime between 1910 and 1920 shows Liberty schoolchildren outside the Liberty Elementary School. The photo is being held up in front of the 102-year-old building that still stands in Buckeye.


Students from the Palo Verde School stand in front of their school bus in an undated photo from sometime between 1910 and 1920.


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