2.3: Historical Roots of Ethnic Studies

1. 
2. • 2.2: Ethnic Studies Frameworks
    
   • 2.4: The Beginning of Ethnic Studies
3. Buy Print Copy

   View on CommonsDonate

• 
• Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick
• ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

Native and Indigenous Pedagogies

Native and Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (a name for North and Central America used by various Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere) have practiced educational pedagogies that center resistance, justice, and equity long before the introduction of Ethnic Studies as a phrase or academic field. Traditional knowledge that has been sustained and carried forward in the face of settler-colonialism provides key insight into the importance of activism and strategies of resistance against oppressive systems (Jacob et al., 2018). Native and Indigenous Pedagogies are as diverse as the peoples who practice them. However, there are some common values and tools that have contributed to current-day Ethnic Studies. Native and Indigenous pedagogies are place-based and incorporate the cultural, historical, environmental, economic, and literary context of students (Johnson, 2012). This means learning with and from the local context, highlighting the importance of contributing directly to local communities through educational projects, and it emphasizes reciprocity and relationality.

Traditions of Education and Resistance

The introduction of colonial educational and epistemological frameworks led to the attempted erasure and genocide of Indigenous lifeways. Building on centuries of colonization, in 1869, the U.S. government and Christian churches began systematically kidnapping Native American children and trafficking students into government and church-run Boarding Schools, which were designed to forcefully strip students of their Native American heritage and impose the use of English, Christian religious customs, and colonized modes of dress. These norms enforced colonial gender binaries, conditioning girls to do housework with boys focused on outside labor. Speaking Native languages and practicing religious or familial customs were violently punished in these Boarding Schools (Lomawaima 2018). This is just one example of instances where educational institutions have functioned to support systems of violence, exploitation, and forced assimilation.

The roots of current-day Ethnic Studies are also present in the ongoing resistance to oppressive educational systems. Throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries, the United States greatly expanded the role of public education. This infrastructure was built up unequally, with schools actively segregated by race. The separation of students by race helped to reinforce the existing racial hierarchy. This also has major implications for the wealth disparities between racial and ethnic groups. For a more in-depth exploration of this topic, please review Chapter 9: The Racial Wealth Gap.

Challenges to Legal Segregation

In 1884, Mary and Joseph Tape, a Chinese American couple living in San Francisco, California, sought to enroll their daughter in the primary school in their neighborhood, which was an all-white school. The administration blocked their enrollment, and the Tapes sued. Their case made it to the California Supreme Court in 1885, which affirmed that public schools must be open to all children. California legislators and federal policy moved quickly to affirm segregation, which would remain the law of the land for nearly another 70 years. The San Francisco School Board created a separate Chinese primary school in Chinatown. However, the racial status quo was not without challenge. In the 1947 case Mendez v. Westminster, Sylvia Mendez, and her family brought a federal case against the Westminster School District of Orange County, California, to challenge the exclusion of Mexican American students from white schools. While Mexican Americans were considered legally white, they were excluded on the basis of Spanish-speaking children. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in their decision that equality in education means opening schools to all children, in defiance of the presiding “separate but equal” doctrine. In Figure , there is a video that describes in more detail the story of Mendez vs. Westminster and its significance in addressing discrimination in California. The video is nine minutes and 45 seconds.

Sidebar: Mendez vs. Westminster and Discrimination in California's Public Schools

Figure : "Mendez v. Westminster Case: Discrimination in California's Public Schools" (CC-BY 3.0; Anu Mande via YouTube)

It was not until the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education case that racial segregation in public schools was outlawed nationwide. In this case, Linda Brown’s family sued the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, because their daughter was denied entrance to their local school because of her race. This landmark decision invalidated the idea that separate facilities, services, and institutions based on race can be equal and affirmed that segregation itself is a form of racial discrimination.

The Court instructed segregated schools across the country to implement desegregation “with all deliberate speed.” However, white supremacist groups emerged to resist these changes, including in Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite vocal and public bigotry and hatred directed at them, nine Black students registered to attend the formerly all-white Central High School: Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls. With support from the Arkansas NAACP, this group, the “Little Rock Nine,” courageously faced racial violence and adult protestors who attempted to prevent them from going to school. The Governor of Arkansas called in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent students from entering the campus, which eventually prompted President Eisenhower to send National Guard troops to escort the students to school. In Figure , Elizabeth Eckford is shown walking to school in sunglasses while she is surrounded by an angry white mob, with Hazel Bryan Massery behind her, shouting hateful comments.

Figure : Elizabeth Eckford being verbally assaulted by Hazel Bryan Massery for exercising her right to pursue an education. (Public Domain; Will Counts via Wikimedia Commons)

Generations of students and activists have had to fight for the rights of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to receive an education at all. Beyond this struggle, the schools and instructional methods that were created by and for white people to maintain white supremacist culture and class superiority are not designed to support BIPOC students. While advocates have worked to open access to these spaces and transform them to better serve the needs of all students, others have focused on creating alternative educational spaces that directly serve the needs of students through culturally and politically relevant pedagogy. This sentiment is captured in the phrase, “Education Justice is Racial Justice,” which is represented through an artistic poster of an activist and social movement in Figure .

Figure : Education Justice is Racial Justice. (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0; Favianna Rodriguez via Justseeds)

Formation of Autonomous Schools

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) began organizing Freedom Schools in 1963. Civil rights leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer, Bob Moses, and Stokely Carmichael had begun organizing voter education initiatives to offer vital education to Black communities. SNCC sought to expand these efforts and work against the pervasive educational disadvantages faced by Black communities in the Jim Crow South. The Freedom Schools provided students of all ages with an opportunity to learn vital information about history, mathematics, culture, and other topics. This offered personal benefits to the participants while also encouraging folx to join a movement of engaged and politically motivated community members. This is just one example of BIPOC communities creating autonomous learning environments that promote cultural pride and relevant knowledge and preserve shared languages. Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been major leaders in this area. You can learn more about these institutions in Chapter 9, section 9.5: "Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities." As well, native Hawaiian communities have been leaders, especially in language preservation, with the Kamehameha Schools opening in 1887 to defend Native traditions and preserve culture for the next generation.

---

This page titled 2.3: Historical Roots of Ethnic Studies is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

1. Back to top
2. • 2.2: Ethnic Studies Frameworks
    
   • 2.4: The Beginning of Ethnic Studies

• Was this article helpful?

The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by NICE CXone Expert and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. Privacy Policy. 

Why Ethnic Studies

 

Why Ethnic Studies

As Ethnic Studies has recently become a requirement for the California State University (CSU) system, and soon the University of California (UC) system, California Community Colleges (CCC), and California high schools, more attention has been placed on Ethnic Studies. I find that most of my community college students don’t know what Ethnic Studies is and may have misconceptions about this discipline that’s over 50 years old. We hope that this Open Educational Resource (OER) put together by six Ethnic Studies instructors will illuminate some of the misunderstandings and mischaracterizations of our beloved discipline. We also hope that this resource will contribute to a new generation of students who will be inspired by the histories, cultures, philosophies, and stories represented in this resource.

Perhaps due to fear or ignorance, or sometimes straight up racism, for as long as Ethnic Studies has existed, there have been efforts to ban, diminish, criticize or censure our programs and curriculum. We’ve been accused of being “Mickey Mouse” or told that Ethnic Studies is not a serious or viable discipline. We’ve also been accused of indoctrinating our students and of spreading hate, or that we are anti-white.

Such attacks on Ethnic Studies teachers, students, classrooms, and curricula are usually baseless, rooted in the very systems of oppression we teach our students about: white supremacy, settler colonialism, and the intersections of racial capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. For practitioners and students who’ve actually taken an Ethnic Studies class, such allegations are confusing, because many of us have found Ethnic Studies to be sites of empowerment, love, joy, and discovery, having made life-changing impacts for generations of students. That’s why it’s no accident that Ethnic Studies became the first and only legislatively backed general education requirement in California. As a result, Ethnic Studies courses will be taught in high schools, community colleges, and the 4-year university systems in this “minority-majority” state.

The advocacy for the Ethnic Studies requirement spans decades of organizing by students, teachers and professors who set up meetings, conversations, wrote letters, developed curriculum, and more, on top of having full-time positions or working multiple part-time jobs, caring for their families, writing books and articles, and/or organizing in various communities. Legislation such as AB 1460 and AB 101 establishing the Ethnic Studies requirement in the CSUs and high schools finally passed because we had multiple studies and data to prove the efficacy of our curricula: raising student attendance, graduation, and success rates, including in classes other than Ethnic Studies. Ethnic Studies has been a proven strategy to tackle racial inequity in schools. More importantly, studies expressed the personal impact of Ethnic Studies on our students’ sense of identity and belonging, highlighting the lasting impression of seeing oneself in the curriculum.

Ethnic Studies came out of struggle and for the past five decades our discipline has always been in a place of contention, so whatever iteration of hate or misjudgement is not new. For those familiar with Ethnic Studies, we know the powerful impact our classroom and curricula have and we have influenced both personal and larger societal, cultural, and political transformations. Obviously, this scares people who have invested in the status quo and internalized ideologies based on hierarchical structures of social status, and access to power and resources.

For many of us, Ethnic Studies is our lifeline. Ethnic Studies saved us. Ethnic Studies is home. And we are not scared easily. We know too well how precious our curricula and classrooms can be and we will not be intimidated nor silenced. We understand that too much is at stake.

Ethnic Studies classrooms, and often our offices after class, have been small spaces of sanctuary, exploration of emotions, rediscoveries of memories we’ve suppressed, for both the instructors and our students. A class like “Intro to Ethnic Studies” can be a site of acknowledgement for the denigrating treatment students receive at work, or they are finally given space to reflect on the internalized effects of colorism on their self-esteem, or students may express cathartic anger that the racially segregated neighborhoods they grew up in have been designed with purpose and targeted for police surveillance and violence.

I value the discussions in class and with students one-on-one within the small quarters of my office or classroom, where they express and address challenges that come with being undocumented, for example, or being mixed race, experiencing abuse, or navigating their mental health. I am especially inspired when witnessing each student’s process of uncovering the personal right along with the political.

Reflection Summary: Why Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies is an important field of study. It helps students understand race, culture, identity, and history. Many students enter college without knowing what Ethnic Studies really is. Some students also have misunderstandings about this subject. This reflection explains why Ethnic Studies matters and why it has become a required course in California.

Ethnic Studies is not a new subject. It has existed for more than 50 years. It began through struggle and activism. Students and educators demanded courses that reflected their lived experiences. They wanted to learn histories that were not included in traditional textbooks. Ethnic Studies was created to challenge dominant narratives and center the voices of historically marginalized communities.

Many community college students do not know what Ethnic Studies is. Some believe it is not serious or academic. Others think it is only about race or politics. These ideas are misconceptions. Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary field. It combines history, sociology, literature, political science, and cultural studies. It asks students to think critically about society and power.

Ethnic Studies has often been criticized. Some people claim it spreads hate or division. Others say it is anti-white or promotes indoctrination. These accusations are usually not based on real classroom experiences. They often come from fear or lack of understanding. In some cases, they are rooted in racism.

These attacks are not new. Ethnic Studies has always faced resistance. This resistance comes from systems of power. These systems include white supremacy, settler colonialism, racial capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. Ethnic Studies challenges these systems. Because of this, it is often seen as threatening.

For students and teachers who experience Ethnic Studies firsthand, the accusations do not make sense. Many people describe Ethnic Studies classrooms as spaces of empowerment. They are spaces of learning, healing, and growth. Students often feel seen and valued. They learn that their stories matter.

Ethnic Studies became the first and only legislatively backed general education requirement in California. This did not happen by accident. It happened after decades of organizing. Students, teachers, and professors worked very hard. They held meetings. They wrote letters. They developed curriculum. They organized in their communities. Many did this while working full-time or caring for their families.

Laws such as AB 1460 and AB 101 made Ethnic Studies a requirement in the CSU system and California high schools. These laws passed because there was strong evidence. Studies showed that Ethnic Studies improves student outcomes. Students had better attendance. Graduation rates increased. Students performed better in other classes as well.

Ethnic Studies helps address racial inequity in schools. It supports students who often feel invisible in traditional education. Seeing oneself in the curriculum is powerful. It helps students build confidence. It strengthens their sense of identity and belonging. These effects last beyond the classroom.

California is a minority-majority state. This means most people belong to racial or ethnic minority groups. Ethnic Studies reflects this reality. It helps students understand the diverse communities they live in. It prepares them to engage respectfully with others. This is important for schools, workplaces, and society.

Ethnic Studies is deeply personal for many people. For some, it is a lifeline. It offers language to describe lived experiences. It helps students understand their struggles in a larger social context. This can be life-changing.

Ethnic Studies classrooms often become spaces of sanctuary. Students feel safe sharing their stories. They discuss experiences of discrimination and exclusion. They reflect on memories they may have suppressed. These discussions are emotional but meaningful.

In an Ethnic Studies class, students may talk about unfair treatment at work. They may discuss colorism and how it affects self-esteem. Some students express anger about racially segregated neighborhoods. They learn that these neighborhoods were often designed intentionally. They were targeted for surveillance and violence.

These realizations can be difficult. They can also be empowering. Students begin to understand that their struggles are not personal failures. They are connected to larger systems. This understanding can reduce shame and isolation.

Ethnic Studies also addresses issues like immigration status. Students may talk about being undocumented. Others may discuss being mixed race. Some share experiences of abuse or mental health struggles. These conversations are often the first time students feel heard.

The instructor’s role is very important. Ethnic Studies teachers create supportive environments. They listen carefully. They guide discussions with care. They respect each student’s journey. This builds trust.

The classroom is not the only space where learning happens. Office hours also matter. One-on-one conversations allow deeper reflection. Students can ask questions they are afraid to ask in class. They can connect personal experiences to course concepts.

Ethnic Studies connects the personal and the political. Students learn that their lives are shaped by history and policy. This connection helps them see themselves as part of society. It also helps them understand their ability to create change.

Many students leave Ethnic Studies courses feeling inspired. They gain critical thinking skills. They learn to question dominant narratives. They become more empathetic. They also become more confident in their identities.

Ethnic Studies does not teach hate. It teaches understanding. It encourages dialogue, not division. It helps students see complexity rather than stereotypes. It values multiple perspectives.

People who oppose Ethnic Studies often fear change. They may be invested in maintaining the status quo. Ethnic Studies challenges hierarchical systems. It questions who has power and why. This makes some people uncomfortable.

However, discomfort can be productive. It can lead to growth. Ethnic Studies invites students to sit with difficult truths. It encourages reflection rather than avoidance.

Ethnic Studies is about love and care. It is about community. It is about honoring ancestors and histories. It is about imagining more just futures.

For many educators, Ethnic Studies is not just a job. It is a commitment. They continue teaching despite criticism. They know the impact of their work. They have seen students transform.

Ethnic Studies saved many people. It gave them language, confidence, and purpose. It helped them feel less alone. It gave them a sense of home.

Because so much is at stake, Ethnic Studies educators are not easily intimidated. They understand the value of their classrooms. They will continue teaching and advocating. They know future generations depend on this work.

Ethnic Studies is more than a requirement. It is an opportunity. It invites students to learn deeply. It encourages self-discovery. It builds connections across difference.

In conclusion, Ethnic Studies matters because it tells the truth. It challenges injustice. It supports students. It creates spaces of healing and empowerment. It prepares students to understand the world and their place in it. Ethnic Studies is not just a subject. It is a movement. It is a home.