The 14 people gathered on the steps of the 1st Street U.S. Federal Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles a few Saturdays ago were passionate, but their cause seemed a bit obscure.
Young and old and in between, with a French bulldog in tow, they held signs that read “Five Families, Four School Districts,” “Et Als Speak Out” and “Omitted Plaintiffs.” They set up banners with photos of their relatives and shouted “Equality!” on a bullhorn to uncaring pedestrians and cars.
Another sign — “H.R. 5754” next to a crossed-out emoji — was equally inscrutable to just about any observer.
Once, the five families — Estrada, Guzman, Mendez, Palomino and Ramirez — were united in their determination to overturn school desegregation in Orange County.
They sued four Orange County school districts in 1946, achieving a far-reaching victory that not only allowed local Latino students to attend the same schools as their white…
