Breaking down the Walls of Segregation

David-James Gonzales examines how citrus capitalism and deliberate regional institutions produced a system of Mexican segregation in Orange County, then traces how grassroots mutual-aid and civic organizations mobilized across barrios to challenge inequality.

The book centers community actors, arguing their organizing laid the groundwork for legal challenges culminating in Mendez, et al.

v. Westminster.

Gonzales situates Orange County’s segregation as regionally specific—shaped by profitability and family labor needs—rather than a simple analogue to Jim Crow.

He documents organizations like La Sociedad Progresista Mexicana and the Mexican-American Movement that formed the civic infrastructure for desegregation activism.

The study connects local activism to broader civil-rights developments and shows how enforcement and political organizing made court victories meaningful.