The History of Latino Education in the US

Contextual Essay

Research Question

Even though Brown v Board of Education was supposed to promote educational equality, Latinx students as well as other students of color have been facing difficulties that were created before the civil rights bills were passed. Latinx students face a large array of problems when it comes to the United States education system as they don’t always have the resources they need in order to succeed. Not only that, but Latinx students also face a challenge while they try to understand a difficult curriculum that was not created specifically for them. The United States education system has not changed its curriculum or had any reform in order to be able to meet the needs of students of color and their families. Through this issue of no reform or seeing of needs, Latinx students often face the difficulty of having to drop out of school due to a lack of a supportive environment. How has the Latinx population in the United States been affected by the lack of reform and educational equality?

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

To understand more about my research, I needed to go back to the start of desegregation. What I mean by going back to the start of desegregation is going back to the Brown v Board of Education case that allowed for desegregation laws to be passed. The Supreme Court decided that the concept separate but equal, is not equal. However, even though these laws helped students, there was nothing to help students of color be integrated into these schools. Although Brown v Board of Education exposed the issues of racial segregation, the case did not help with the integration of Latinx students and other students of color into all white schools. An issue that has been brought up by many scholars is the fact that when students of color first started going to these all white schools, they were faced with a curriculum that was not originally made for them. Each student has specific needs, and the all white upper class curriculum would not meet the needs that each student would hold. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1965

Although the Brown v Board of Education case allowed for desegregation laws to be passed in schools, that did not mean that people of color were given all of their rights. Segregation was still very common in public areas and continued to separate any person of color from the rest of the United States. What this meant for communities of color is that they were still being discriminated against due to the color of their skin. In schools, this would also look like the forceful busing of students as well as the inability to be a part of several school functions and more. Due to the efforts of citizens all across the country through years of suffering, the Civil Rights Act of 1965 was finally passed. This bill ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This bill was a large stepping stone to every person of color not just the Latinx community when trying to achieve equal rights and an equal opportunity in life. 

Today

As we transition to more recent events, it is important to note that the protests for equal treatment, end of discrimination, and other basic rights was still a very big part of life. Even though there are laws indicating that everyone is supposed to have equal rights, it doesn’t mean that people are actually treated like they do. One example of this is the creation and fight for the Chicana/o Studies programs at the University of Berkley. The program was the result of protests and demonstrations by United States citizens for the addition of these courses to the university. Mario T, Garcia states that the Chicana/o Studies program would not exist without the movement to have it added. Although there was now the issue of funding for the program, the addition of the program to one university allowed for other universities to join the cause and help fund the movement. With this example, I wanted to show how the United States government did not want to have this program added, but it was through the people that allowed for this course to be funded and spread across the country.

The Chicana/o studies program is not the only ethnic studies program that was added due to the protesting and actions of citizens. The majority of the ethnic studies programs in the United States fall under this category as well. One main reason for this is due to the lack of history that is actually being taught inside of schools. One CBS study in 2020 found that seven states do not mention slavery in their history curriculum. How are students receiving a true education that speaks about all of the problems of the past. Not only that, but how are schools avoiding the education of issues that directly affected another race or class. “My history is your history” a quote from James Baldwin who spoke to congress about the addition of black history and culture to schools. Balwin was able to capture the exact message that everyone should know today. The message that without the shared knowledge of all history, people of color are being affected and separated from their own history. 

Although the protests and movements of citizens have been great for the addition of ethnic studies courses in the United States, there still have been efforts from states in order to try to remove Ethnic Studies programs. The program that was being sought to be removed was the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program that was a part of Arizona schools. This program was able to increase student enrollment in these courses and student achievement, as well as the frequency of students enrolling in secondary education. The only thing that this course decreased was the dropout rates of Hispanic students because they finally had a place where they could share and embrace their culture. However, Tom Horne, the previous state superintendent, felt as this program formed hatred of other races as well as creating ethnic solidarity. Due to these accusations, as well as Horne passing a bill that forbid the teaching of these programs, being a minority in Arizona was dangerous. On top of people of color being unjustly stopped and arrested, students were now forbidden from learning about their culture and forming a community where they lived. The bill was deemed unlawful after seven years of protests and fighting, which allowed for students to be able to take these courses again. In response to House Bill 2281 which was Arizona’s anti-ethnic studies act, a news reporter writes in support of the bill. The reporter writes about how the coddling of ethnic studies to help students of color is giving them cheerleading instead of knowledge. However, this news reporter does not use any statistics, facts, or evidence to back up any of their claims. This reporter is an example of how the lack of education in schools around the country can set a person’s mind in stone and not allow for an actual understanding of history to be shared. In response to all of these claims by the state of Arizona as well as reporters in support of this bill, the actions show to be people in power not caring about their lies but instead trying to justify their claims.

Even though there have been cases of people in power trying to get rid of ethnic studies for their own personal reasons, several studies have shown how the addition of ethnic studies courses has benefited the Latinx community. Over the course of the past decade, the dropout rates of Latinx students have significantly decreased. From 2000 – 2014, the dropout rate of Hispanic Americans in high school has dropped by 20%. Not only this, but the view of public education has also increased in the Latinx community. The increase in support of education as well as the United States itself has come from the increasing amount of changes that are sweeping the nation in support of Ethnic studies as well as the support and understanding of students who don’t have access to everyday resources. 

Conclusion
In conclusion, the Latinx experience inside of the United States’ education system has never been easy. To start, the fight for educational equality was not over until 1964, even though school segregation was made illegal in 1954. Additionally, the Latinx community has constantly had to fight and protest for the inclusion of their own history and culture in the United States. Furthermore, in response to the semi-recent changes in schools as well as small curriculum changes that have been made, the dropout rates of Latinos in highschool have decreased, as well as an increase in Latinos who apply to secondary education. By understanding many factors through history and in the lives of many Latinos, we can see the struggles that the Latinx community face to just receive an equal education as well as recognition in history. This allowed me to gain a better understanding of the struggles to incorporate Ethnic Studies into schools as well as the struggles that the Latinx community faces in the US education system just trying to be a part of the country they helped build. 

Primary Sources

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