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

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.

The ban was overturned in 2017, as it was deemed racist and unconstitutional. The rhetoric from this law, which claimed to restrict teachers from promoting “resentment toward a race or class of people" or advocating “ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals,” re-emerged in 2021 as conservative activists passed statewide bans on Critical Race Theory to intimidate K-12 educators working to have discussions about race and ethnicity in their classrooms. Despite this political hostility and counter-mobilization, Ethnic Studies educators and others invested in student equity and success continue to work at the front lines to inspire students and ensure that the next generation has access to a relevant education.

There are a range of degree programs that are offered in Ethnic Studies fields, reflecting the complexity and depth of experiences among people of color and Indigenous peoples in the United States and around the world. Ethnic Studies programs are united in their shared focus on power and domination, as well as a connection to real-world struggles for justice and equity. This is distinguished between traditional fields of regional studies, cultural studies, and American Studies. For example, researchers who study African cultures, traditions, history, and science may offer a program in African Studies or a degree specific to a region or country on the continent. These programs are distinct from a Black Studies program or Africana Studies program, which focuses on the self-determination and struggles of Black communities in the U.S. or in a transnational context. Ethnic Studies programs may offer degrees in Comparative Ethnic Studies, which addresses multiple historically defined racialized groups, or with a specific concentration in disciplines like Black Studies, African American Studies, Africana Studies, Native American Studies, Indigenous Studies, American Indian Studies, Chicanx and Latinx Studies, Asian American Studies, Critical Pacific Islands & Oceania Studies, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas, and Critical Middle East/Southwest and North Africa Studies.

That all Black Studies courses being taught through various departments be immediately part of the Black Studies Department and that all the instructors in this department receive full-time pay. That Dr. Hare, Chairman of the Black Studies Department, receive a full-professorship and a comparable salary according to his qualifications. That there be a Department of Black Studies which will grant a Bachelor's Degree in Black Studies; that the Black Studies Department chairman, faculty and staff have the sole power to hire faculty and control and determine the destiny of its department. That all unused slots for Black Students from Fall 1968 under the Special Admissions program be filled in Spring 1969. That all Black students wishing so, be admitted in Fall 1969. That twenty (20) full-time teaching positions be allocated to the Department of Black Studies. That Dr. Helen Bedesem be replaced from the position of Financial Aid Officer and that a Black person be hired to direct it; that Third World people have the power to determine how it will be administered. That no disciplinary action will be administered in any way to any students, workers, teachers, or administrators during and after the strike as a consequence of their participation in the strike. That the California State College Trustees not be allowed to dissolve any Black programs on or off the San Francisco State College campus. That George Murray maintain his teaching position on campus for the 1968-69 academic year. Third World Liberation Front Demands That a School of Ethnic Studies for the ethnic groups involved in the Third World be set up with the students in each particular ethnic organization having the authority and control of the hiring and retention of any faculty member, director, or administrator, as well as the curriculum in a specific area study. That 50 faculty positions be appropriated to the School of Ethnic Studies, 20 of which would be for the Black Studies program. That, in the Spring semester, the College fulfill its commitment to the non-white students in admitting those who apply. That, in the fall of 1969, all applications of non-white students be accepted. That George Murray and any other faculty person chosen by non-white people as their teacher be retained in their positions.

By 1968, the Black Studies curriculum covered history, social sciences, and the humanities, including courses like Sociology of Black Oppression, American Institutions, Culture in Cities, Composition, Modern African Thought and Literature, Recurrent Themes in Twentieth Century Afroamericano Thought, Creative Writing, Avant-Garde Jazz, Play Writing, and Black Improvisation.

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.

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.

Ethnic Studies is critical because it opens the door to recognizing and understanding these aspects of society and culture that are often diminished or hidden. This brings us to the third geohistorical macroscale of Ethnic Studies, which is hegemony and normalization. Hegemony refers to the 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. F

In Figure 2.2.1, the image shows an activist sign with the phrase, "No History, No Self," written in red and black. This sign was used at a protest in support of students on a hunger strike for Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University in 2016. The message emphasizes the way that Ethnic Studies as a discipline benefits students by connecting to the true and authentic histories of race, Indigeneity, and culture.

It emerged out of struggles and the long histories of communities of color and Indigenous peoples who value education for its potential to transform lives, inspire change, raise awareness, and disrupt systems of power and exploitation. In this chapter, you will learn a bit about those traditions and the way that various movements, students, and activists came together to form what we now call Ethnic Studies.

The field of Ethnic Studies and the various disciplines like Black Studies/Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Pacific Islander Studies, Arab American Studies, American Indian/Native American Studies, and Chicanx/Latinx and Latinx Indigenous Studies all work to center the knowledge and expertise of historically minoritized groups. Ethnic Studies has always been interdisciplinary in nature, meaning that it combines the strengths and perspectives of multiple disciplines.

Finally, the framework of intersectionality is also applied to love, radical self-love, and self-care as forms of resistance, particularly for women of color and Queer, Trans, and Non Binary people of color.

Espinoza-Kulick writes about the ways our communities have sustained our heritage in the face of genocide, settler-colonialism, slavery, and other systems of oppression that attempted to strip communities of their languages, cultures, spiritual practices, and ancestral connections.

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.