The Chicano Movement is not Dead
Paralyzed by the ramifications but fed up with the injustices, thousands of students walked out of East LA high schools in 1968. Sal Castro, a Los Angeles Union District history teacher, was one of the first to teach Mexican and Mexican American culture with a mission to cultivate a sense of pride in his students, who were mostly of Mexican descent. Many consider these events the peak of the Chicano Movement in the United States.
Decades later, the Chicano Movement is still fighting for space in the education system. California will be the first state in the union to require ethnic studies in high school curricula beginning in 2025 as an incentive to increase cultural relevance in classrooms.
Earlier this February, scholars and historians from all corners of the nation gathered to celebrate the work and legacy of Dr. Mario Garcia at the 6th Bi-Annual Sal Castro Memorial Conference. García is a pioneer in the field of Chicano history, giving it a voice in American history textbooks. His contributions have built a strong foundation for future historians.
“Chicano history is American history,” Garcia said while sharing with his audience what motivates him to do the work that he does. He makes it his life’s mission to fill in the gaps of Chicano contributions, but more importantly, to change the mainstream narrative of American history to be inclusive of all groups who have contributed to it. Specifically, to those that have migrated to the United States from the south of the border.
The United States is an incredibly diverse nation, receiving more than 1 million legal immigrants per year, making ethnic studies increasingly relevant to today’s globalized world. Ethnic studies can help students learn about and understand the complexities of people across different cultural and ethnic groups within American society. Some states in the Union resist the teaching of critical race theory and don’t require ethnic studies as a part of high school curricula.
Melinda Gandara, a Mexican literature professor at Santa Barbara City College, recognizes the value of teaching ethnic studies and critical race theory to her students. Gandara has her students read young adult books about coming of age. “Self-discovery books are so powerful because they touch on current and relevant themes such as sexuality, immigration, mental health, and discovery,” said Gandara. Through her coursework and required readings, her students find empowerment as they learn about people who come from the same roots and have lived parallel experiences.
Providing a different set of lenses to view and interpret American history, such as learning about the Mexican American experience of a teenager through a novel, gives access to a more robust spectrum of human knowledge and not just one certain aspect of it.
A study that was published by the American Educational Research Journal, a publication that publishes empirical, theoretical, and methodological research to further the understanding of education and learning, concluded that it is beneficial for students to learn the history of different cultural groups as it helps further understand how race, gender, sexuality, and other forms of differences influence modern-day society. The study found that students who took Mexican American Studies in states with high Latino populations had higher graduation rates. The authors of the study discussed the relevance of students learning about their heritage.
As teachers note that student interest levels rose along with graduation rates, Jose Lara, a high school district teacher interviewed by the neaToday publication, said, “If it's not about them, they are not interested”.
California’s new requirement does not necessarily enforce the teachings of certain concepts, such as critical race theory. Advocates of the Assembly Bill believe in the value of bringing cultural relevance to high school curricula.
Opponents of the bill don’t find the value of requiring ethnic studies to be pressing or relevant enough to eliminate traditional requirements from high school curricula such as math, science, and general history. Other states, such as Florida, Arizona, and Idaho, are more concerned about the negative narrative critical race theory projects in the United States, as they are based around the idea that discrimination, inequity, and racism are part of how the United States is structured. These states intend to fully ban critical race theory from high schools. Idaho Representative Ron Nate publicly said during a parent assembly that state funds should never be used to promote hate and racism.
Chris Arthur, a proud Idahoan, is concerned that school systems are indirectly trying to push Marxist ideals into youth without the consent of their legal guardians. “The United States is the most merit-based society in the history of mankind,” says Arthur. “People flock from around the world to live a dream that is not available to them otherwise. Critical race theory is another way to explain that the US system is rigged against you, promoting a culture of victimization. I do not want my daughter to think that because she is half Latina, she will have any disadvantage whatsoever. Her successes are in her and our families’ hands. The more minorities that accept that, the more success will be realized by those that feel they are victims.”
Even though certain states approach the teaching of ethnic studies differently, the testimonies of students who have taken courses such as Chicano studies in higher education express how its positive influences have affected their personal lives as well as careers.
One former student of Garcia went on to become a California congressman. Salud Carbajal, who spoke at the tribute symposium, shed light on the impact that learning Chicano and Latino history had on his personal life and career as a politician. He admitted that he was “oblivious” to the contributions of Latinos and Chicanos to the United States. “Before attending university, I was totally oblivious to the equity issues and injustices that continue to plague our country. A little less in some regards and a little bit the same in others.” Carbajal said. “When I came to UC Santa Barbara, it was the professors in the history and Chicano studies departments that opened my eyes to the contributions of these communities. Making us proud to share our resilience and to talk about our accomplishments"
Paula Ochoa, another student of Dr. Garcia’s who was a first-generation college student and now a broadcast journalist and the president of Santa Barbara’s women’s political club, shared the impact that learning Chicano history had on her life. “My father was of the generation where we were told to assimilate and not speak Spanish. He did not teach me Spanish,” said Ochoa. “Not learning my history and my own stories was a sad void I had growing up, but you filled that void when I took your class and you told our stories, and you chose people to tell our stories, and you taught me that everybody has stories and that everybody has a history.”
Whether or not ethnic studies will be enforced in high schools across the United States is up to individual states. However, the history of the different ethnic groups is available to those who want to get a more rich and complete understanding of American history.
Garcia has formally retired from the Chicano Studies Department at UC Santa Barbara after paving the path for future scholars to continue his legacy.
Written by Chiloé Spelius in 2023 for UC Santa Barbara’s 6th Bi-Annual Sal Castro Memorial Conference on the Chicano Movement and the long history of Mexican American civil rights struggles.