2.6: Summary/Review

Conclusion

In summary, the field of Ethnic Studies is a dynamic source of inquiry and action. As we have explored its history, we can see that it joins many roots of resistance with a commitment to a relevant education. It is also particular to the racialized history of higher education in the United States and the resistance and liberation movements of the 1960s. While activist movements respond to the emerging needs brought about in the larger political environment, each generation has invested in Ethnic Studies as a source of education, research, and sharing knowledge to inspire further liberation and pursuits of justice. The need for Ethnic Studies is apparent when considering the long history of educational institutions in reproducing systemic oppression, including violence at the hands of educational institutions as well as exclusion from high-quality schools. Fortunately, Ethnic Studies has been shown time and time again to help improve disparities in school achievement and contribute to a more positive, inclusive school culture.

Further, while Ethnic Studies was developed as the educational arm of broader struggles of decolonization and racial justice, it has also taken on its own life through the students and educators who carry out creative pedagogies and put knowledge into action. This has also led to the field becoming a target for politicization by outside commentators and stakeholders who consciously organize misinformation campaigns using the media and local activist networks. In the face of many misconceptions about Ethnic Studies, students and educators alike benefit from the knowledge and approach of Ethnic Studies scholarship. The future of the field depends entirely on today’s students, who will come to shape the direction of the social movements that are central to the unfolding discipline and become the next generation of scholars to build innovative solutions to persistent systems of injustice in our society.

Key Terms

• Geohistorical Macroscales of Ethnic Studies: A perspective put forward by Tolteka Cuahutin to describe the dynamic principles that guide Ethnic Studies scholarship in terms of scope and approach:
  • Indigeneity and Active Roots,
  • Coloniality, Dehumanization, and Genocide,
  • Hegemony and Normalization; and,
  • Decoloniality, Regeneration, and Transformational Resistance.
• Coloniality, Dehumanization, and Genocide: Systems of oppression that are carried out through political, cultural, and militarized means, leading to the assault on Native and Indigenous lifeways.
• Hegemony: Systems by which violence and exploitation are maintained in regular patterns to advantage socially dominant groups and maintain the oppression of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, including women and non-binary people, as well as people of diverse faiths, abilities, and immigration statuses.
• Decoloniality, Regeneration, and Transformational Resistance: Going beyond revealing and examining violence and pain to bring students and education into the work of transformation, resistance, and social change.
• Native and Indigenous Pedagogies: Diverse perspectives in tribal communities that are commonly place-based and incorporate the cultural, historical, environmental, economic, and literary context of local Indigenous realities.
• Colonial Education: Settler institutions that have attempted erasure and genocide of Indigenous lifeways, including the government and Church-run Boarding Schools in the United States and Canada.
• Third World Liberation Front (TWLF): A multi-ethnic coalition of students that were awoken to the fact that they were being taught in ways that were dominating and irrelevant to themselves (Maeda, 2012), and included a coalition of the Black Student Union (BSU), Latin American Student Organization (LASO), Intercollegiate Chinese for Social Action (ICSA), Mexican American Student Confederation, Philippine (now Pilipino) American Collegiate Endeavor (PACE), La Raza, Native American Students Union, and Asian American Political Alliance
• General Education Graduation Requirement: A type of course that all students are required to take as part of their degree. In California, Ethnic Studies has become a general education graduation requirement in all public high schools and colleges.
• Critical Race Theory: A legal perspective put forward by scholars to identify the link between U.S. laws and the structure of racism, with the goal of better ending racial discrimination and disparities. This perspective has been misrepresented by conservative activists.

Discussion Questions

1. Review some of the demands from the Third World Liberation Front in Section 2.4. Do any of these resonate with your experience on our own campus? What demands would you make of your administration? How would you modify or update these demands for your own context?
2. Ethnic Studies as a field has grown in tandem with the constituent disciplines. What are the advantages of focusing on specific community formations, such as in Black Studies, Chicanx and Latinx Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Arab American Studies, or Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies? What are the advantages of a comparative Ethnic Studies perspective?
3. The Mendez vs. Westminster case showcased the status quo perspective of segregation in public education at that time. What are some of the current perspectives that support segregation and inequity in education? How would you respond to those ideas now, given what you have learned in this chapter?

Journal Prompts

1. The field of Ethnic Studies is deeply rooted in activist traditions. This has included linking the work happening in classrooms and through education to the diverse struggles of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color groups. Reflecting on the students, families, and individuals that you learned about in this chapter, what are some strategies that lead to social change? Consider how these strategies relate to your own life or the things you have witnessed around you.
   • For a more focused exercise, consider directing the prompt to a specific activist group. For example, you may want to focus on the San Francisco State College Strikes for Ethnic Studies in 1968-1969.
   • You can access more primary documents and digital recordings from the Strike from the SFSU Diva Archive and SF State College Strike Collection at the SFSU Library.
   • To see the full Black Studies Curriculum from Spring 1968, you can visit the SFSU Digital Collections.
2. Educational institutions can promote freedom, self-determination, and justice, but they have also been places of elite domination, white supremacy, and settler-colonialism. Considering the schools you attended and where you have lived, what patterns have you witnessed? You may want to focus on examples of barriers and exclusion, positive work for inclusion and equity, or both.
   • Be sure to verify assumptions about the demographics of a school or neighborhood. For colleges and universities, you can find racial demographic information on websites like College Factual or by searching your school’s website. You can look up information about demographics in a specific place by using the US Census website.

Class Activities

Role Play Discussion: Strategizing for Social Change

• For this activity, you will divide the class into three groups. Each group will represent a different constituency in the strike for Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State College: the Third World Liberation Front, the faculty union, and the anti-war groups who supported the strike.
• In these groups, the class will address a series of scenarios that mirror the experiences of the strikers and the college.
• Students should situate their responses to the circumstance based on their understanding of the text and historical examples referenced in the chapter and course material. Consider priorities, tactics, and context.

Example Scenario:

• A local newspaper ran coverage of a demonstration where a number of strikers were arrested. In the description of the events, they negatively characterized the students that were arrested and consistently called the strikers violent. Another demonstration is planned for the next day, and many student activists want to respond to the newspaper directly. Others have suggested focusing the demonstration on more peaceful tactics to avoid arrests and being called violent again. Your three groups are tasked with how to move everyone forward. What options would you consider? How would you decide who will do what? Take into account that there is limited time to communicate messages to your supporters.
• The instructor may adapt to emergent conditions based on what the groups decide to do. For example, this might include introducing external factors like additional repressive responses, political pressure, or resistance from other stakeholders.

Suggested Format:

Provide the instructions, divide everyone into groups, and review the scenario with everyone. Answer any questions that come up in the full group.

• Give each group a few minutes to discuss amongst themselves how they want to represent their interests in the discussion. Each group should also identify one or more people who will represent their group in the larger discussions. Others may contribute as well, but this will help to facilitate a flowing conversation.
• Return the large group, review the scenario once more, and provide each group an opportunity to provide their initial remarks. Facilitate discussion among the groups to achieve a dynamic and unified response to the outlined scenario.
• This would be well suited for a face-to-face modality or a synchronous online discussion using video chat technology and breakout rooms (e.g., Zoom). You could also adapt this to be a guided discussion board or multi-part online discussion in groups.

Ethnic Studies is…

• Each student will provide a creative response to the prompt, “Ethnic Studies is…” that is rooted in what you have learned from this chapter and the class. The response should be brief, about one sentence, and may highlight a definition of Ethnic Studies or what Ethnic Studies means to that individual.
  • This could take on different formats for different learners and styles. For example, using an Online Discussion board in an online course, students could post their short replies to the prompt and have an opportunity to view one another's. You can also have students provide their brief reply with a video recording or by completing a template image.
• Based on the format option(s) that individuals can submit, the group’s collective responses should be compiled and made available for discussion.