In this image, a young Puerto Rican student works on her assignment in a Hartford classroom in 1957. Seen behind her are other students of various different ethnicities working on the same work.
The video within this comment follows the history of two young women who were involved as Plaintiffs in the historic Sheff vs. O’Neill lawsuit of 1989. The two women, Wildaliz and Eva Bermudez, were supported by their entire family in 1989 when they were only five or so years old. In the oral interview the women discuss their earliest memories of being involved in the case, being involved in outdoor picnics trying to raise awareness for the cause. They also discuss how the case has followed them throughout their lives into college. One woman shared how she was in a class at the University of Hartford and her professor said they would be discussing the Sheff vs O’Neill case. She had to raise her hand and make sure he knew that she had first-hand experience.
Source: Bermudez, Wildaliz and Eva. Oral history interview on Sheff v. O’Neill school desegregation by Anique Thompson for the Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Project, June 30, 2011. Available from the Trinity College Digital Repository, Hartford Connecticut (http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cssp/).
Both the oral interview and the photo are connected because they are focused on Puerto Rican students in Hartford. All students, as a US right, have the access to a free public education, and the Sheff vs. O’Neill case brought that idea into focus. This photo also revisits this fundamental right because it shows a young Puerto Rican girl being involved in a classroom with other students of other ethnicities and backgrounds. The dates are very far apart, which is an interesting point seeing as the Sheff vs. O’Neill case wasn’t brought into court until 1989, and this photo was taken in 1957 in Hartford.