Westminster dedicated the Mendez Freedom Trail on Tuesday morning, marking the completion of a multi-year project to honor one of the most important civil rights cases in California history.

The ceremony took place at 10 a.m. on the Hoover Street Bikeway, north of Main Street, across from Webber Elementary School. Southbound Hoover Street between Westminster Boulevard and Main Street was temporarily closed for the event.

The trail runs two miles along Hoover Street and is built around the story of Mendez v. Westminster, the 1947 federal court case in which five families — including Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez — sued to end the segregation of Mexican-American children in Westminster's public schools. The court ruled in their favor, and the decision helped establish legal precedents that Brown v. Board of Education would later build on seven years later.

Sylvia Mendez, daughter of the original plaintiffs, has been actively involved in the trail project, leading fundraising efforts and speaking on behalf of her family's legacy. Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen and Orange County Superintendent Dr. Stefan Bean were also among the speakers at Tuesday's ceremony.

The trail features interpretive stations and augmented reality panels with narration available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The multilingual approach reflects the communities that now call this part of Westminster home, including the large Vietnamese-American population in the surrounding area.

The trail connects to the Mendez Tribute Monument Park, which opened in 2022 and features bronze statues created by sculptor Ignacio Gomez. Together, the monument and trail create a place-based educational corridor along one of Westminster's main corridors.