Janice Munemitsu - The Kindness of Color: The Story of Two Families and Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, the 1947 Desegregation of California Public Schools

PRAISE FOR

Janice is a friend of mine and she has written a book full to the brim with passion, truth and insight. The lessons you will learn as you turn these pages will help you not only understand the past, but will influence your future.

Bob Goff

New York Times Bestselling Author of Love Does , Everybody Always and Dream Big

Beautifully written, an American story of the courage, patriotism and resilience of two Orange County families.

Honorable Frederick Aguirre

Judge, Superior Court of Orange County (retired)

The Kindness of Color is a beautifully crafted true and inspiring story of how the cross-cultural cooperation between two oppressed families and communities of color in Orange County, California, during the World War II era, led to a landmark case of public-school desegregation at the state and national levels. At a time when transformational courses in ethnic studies are being mandated at both of these levels, Janice Munemitsus book is ideally suited to being a curricular staple.

Dr. Art Hansen

Emeritus Professor of History and Asian American Studies,

California State University, Fullerton

The Kindness of Color offers an engaging and unique true account of 1940s history. The book follows two immigrant familiesone Japanese American and one Mexican Americanas they confront racism in California during and after World War II. Munemitsu relies on family stories, personal interviews, and extensive research to document her narrative, but she doesnt stop there. She shows how kindness and respect provide an antidote to bigotry and how one act of kindness can lead to another, until the whole world is changed.

Winifred Conkling

Author, Sylvia & Aki

In The Kindness of Color , Janice Munemitsu provides the true story of two families behind the Mendez v. Westminster case that led to the desegregation of California public schools in 1947. By divine intervention, the Mendez and Munemitsu families met while confronting many forms of racism during World War II. Through it all, the unconditional kindness they received from others and returned to others ultimately proved to be a force for healing and change.

The Kindness of Color is a compelling work that shows how individual acts of kindness by many in the midst of gross injustice provided healing and encouragement, not just to these two families, but also brought meaningful change to the community, state, and eventually the nation. As the former superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District during the naming and construction of the first school named after the Mendez family, Gonzalo & Felicitas Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School in 1997, I believe this book should serve as a primer of imperative justice and be required reading in civics and history classes across America.

Al Mijares, PhD

Orange County Superintendent of Schools

Kindness is being given a box of vegetables and fruit from a friends farm, and finding it filled with everlasting treasure.

This captivating story twists and turns like fiction but all is real, factual, and historical. This will be required reading for all students to grasp the impact and importance of our interwoven history, and serendipitous connections all the while, changing hearts towards kindness.

Tommy Dyo

Asian American Pacific Islander Community Advocate

National Director, Epic Movement

In Janice Munemitsus new book, The Kindness of Color , she shares with us the difficulties and redemption of one Japanese American family during the internment period of WWII. She skillfully weaves in the kindness of color of a Hispanic family, a White banker, and a Jewish lawyer who was the son of Russian immigrants, as well as her own family. She shares how the kindness of different people was a factor not only for her family but the other families as well. How through the difficulty of internment of the Japanese Americans, the legacy of her family includes being connected to descendants of other family players in this beautiful saga. A must-read for those who are genuinely interested in breaking past the color barriers of our society to authentically see the goodness and kindness in the people around us.

Greg Campbell

Management and Leadership Consultant

Author of The Surprising Power of The Coil

As an Orange County native and daughter of first-generation Indian immigrants, the intertwined stories of the Munemitsu and Mendez families hold a special place in my heart. I am extremely passionate about Mendez v. Westminster , and I take every opportunity to learn about the case and remind myself how grateful I am for the education I receive today. The Kindness of Color gave me this opportunity and much more by not only relating the story of Mendez v. Westminster to the incarceration of the Munemitsu family, but also expertly integrating family and community anecdotes to create a fascinating narrative. I loved this book, and I know you will too!

Jasmine Chhabria

National History Day Finalist, 2018

Keynote Speaker on Mendez v. Westminster

Class of 2022, Northwood High School, Irvine, CA

Janice Munemitsu carries on the legacy of generosity and kindness passed down to her by her grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts. In The Kindness of Color , Janice tells the story of her family and the Mendez family, and how their lives intersected in a series of historical events that changed California and the United States. The book shares stories of how people courageously crossed barriers and found common ground, even during times of intense division in our nation. By doing so they built better communities and better lives. Janice shows how ordinary people faced with profound hardship, like racism, segregation, and even unjust incarceration, can work together to assure that America puts its principles into practice in pursuit of liberty and justice for all. I highly recommend this book as a resource for hope and wholeness during our present times full of fear and foreboding.

Jeff Hittenberger, PhD

Chief Academic Officer, Orange County Department of Education

Copyright 2021 Janice Munemitsu

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

To request permissions, contact the publisher at .

Paperback: 978-0-578-94687-0

Library of Congress Number: 2021913953

First paperback edition November 2021.

Edited by Jessica Snell

Cover art by May Brueckner

Layout by Natalie Lauren Design

Photographs courtesy of the Janice Munemitsu unless otherwise noted

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Published by Janice Munemitsu

TheKindnessOfColor.com

Barbwire imprisoned.

War of bombs and racism.

Hands offer kindness.

Fences keep you out.