It’s a part of Lemon Grove history that, according to those who are familiar with it, is sometimes forgotten.

“It was the fact that they fought it and won their case that was almost a miracle, I would say,” Roberta Bulling told NBC 7.

Bulling has been with the Lemon Grove Historical Society for more than a decade, but she clearly remembers her first time hearing about what’s referred to now as the Lemon Grove Incident.

“I loved listening to the history of it, but I was really very surprised,” Bulling said. “It’s a powerful story of unity of the parents to stand up for their children’s rights.”

The memory is of one of the nation’s first successful school desegregation cases. It happened in 1931, nearly two decades before the historic Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that made segregation in schools unconstitutional.

The Lemon Grove Incident

In the fall of 1930, more than 70 students of Mexican descent were attending the Lemon Grove School, sometimes called The Castle since it resembled one. It sat near Main Street and Central Avenue, and had around 200 kids studying in Grades 1-8, according to the historical society.

During the months leading up to winter, some of the students noticed a smaller structure being built closer to their homes. It wasn’t until a play structure was added that they grew concerned that it would be a smaller school.

“They came back in January, and the principal said all the Mexican children will be going to this school in your neighborhood,” Bulling said.

However, the parents had already told the students not to go to the new building.

“ 'If they tell you to go to that barn school, then just come home,’ and so the children came home,” Bulling added.

That night, Bulling said, the parents created a committee called Los Vecinos ("The Neighbors") and were determined to prevent the segregation from happening. After fundraising and gaining support, the committee filed a lawsuit that was ultimately successful in court.

By early March of that same year, the students returned to the Lemon Grove School.

“[The judge] understood that sometimes children needed to be separated for special education to help them catch up with the others, but that it was wrong to discriminate against all the children and make them leave the school,” Bulling said.

A mural to remember

Now there is a 70-foot long mural on Broadway in Lemon Grove to commemorate the Lemon Grove Incident. It was painted by Mario Chacon in 2021, 90 years after the case was won.

“Making this mural was very significant in terms of bringing back to life something that was very important, that had long been forgotten, even by many people in this community,” Chacon said.

Chacon said it took three months and two assistant artists to help him complete the job. The mural depicts the students and their parents, as well as the court hearing, and messages of unity and gratitude that have been drawn by more recent Lemon Grove students after learning about this case.

Chacon shared with NBC 7 that when he unveiled the mural a few years ago, he learned that not many of the people who were involved in it passed the knowledge on to their families.

“Although they were very empowered — and did something that had not happened in Southern California especially — once the case was over, they sought to kind of forget about it,” Chacon said. “Let’s put it behind us, let’s move forward and be thankful we were successful.”

Now, years later, both Chacon and Bulling agree it's time to talk to about this important part of Lemon Grove history for generations to come.

“When you unite and you seek to guarantee the rights of your children, which is what these parents did, you can be successful,” Chacon said.

“I think that’s probably my favorite part of this,” Bulling said with a pause. “The courage it took.”

The events were also featured in a children’s book written in Spanish and English, titled "Todos Iguales/All Equal: Un Corrido de Lemon Grove/A Ballad of Lemon Grove," by Christy Hale.