Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies is the study of race, ethnicity, and original peoples with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color. It is the analysis of the ways in which race and racism have been, and continue to be, powerful social, cultural, and political forces and their intersections with gender, class, sexuality, and legal status. It is one way to examine race, ethnicity, nationality, and culture in the United States. *
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Chicano Legacy Mural by Mario Torero - 2009
Big Ideas
  • Building your identity is a process that we, as well as others, use to define our sense of membership and belonging. Our identity is connected to our history.
  • In society there are three kinds of systems that work together to bring large groups of people together: economic, political, social/cultural.
  • The dominance of one group over another is supported by legitimating norms, ideas and expectations within the existing systems of power. ​
  • Humanization occurs when power is used to uphold dignity and self-worth. 
  • Causality is the principal that there is a reason why something happened. Agency is the ability to determine the outcome of our life.
  • Change is the act of becoming different.​
  • When oppressed people submit to these norms, ideas and expectations they perceive their lives as an unchangeable reality, ultimately benefiting those in power.​
Below are some great links you can explore about identity.

The "Batty" Politic: Toward an Aesthetic of the Black Female Body by Janell Hobson
Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color by Kimberle Crenshaw
Latino Youths' Experiences with and Perceptions of Involuntary Police Encounters by Carmen Solis, Edwardo L. Portillos and Rod K. Brunson

The essay, "Two Ways to belong in America"  offers a great discussion of the immigrant experience from two perspectives. You can download it here.
Below are some great links you can explore that tell some of the stories of Latinos in the Unites States.

La Experiancia America from the National Archives offers a wonderful exposition of Hispanic experiences in 20th century America. Follow this link.

Diane Guerrero, star of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black, tells the powerful story about the day her family was deported. Follow this link.

Celebrating our Latinidad, a rich cultural exploration of Latino foodways and traditions. Follow this Link.

Latinos in news and entertainment. Follow this link.

“People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true”, says Zoe Saldaña, “but I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength.” From Selena to Sylvia Rivera, Latinas have shown their strength, fortitude and skill in every discipline and field, including science, the arts, law, and politics. Here we take a look at a handful of the inspiring Latinas who have made history, shaped the society we live in, and changed our world for the better. Follow this link
If you are interested in the concept of power and power structures, check out these videos.
Here are some great links that celebrate Black history and Culture in the United States.

Lynching in America, Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror by the Equal Justice Initiative features stories of America's history of racial injustice is a moving site that compels us to face the truth of our past. Click here.

Discover thousands of artworks, artifacts and stories from cultural organizations acrosss the country on Google's Arts and Culture site. Click here.

Black Power: The Movement, The Legacy is a powerful collection of images from the The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library. Click Here.

ThoughtCo offers a comprehensive list of notable African American women, click here and a list of famous African American men and women of the 20th century. Click here.

Gale offers a detailed history of African American music. Click here.
One Tenth of Our Nation was a documentary film commissioned by the General Education Board, a philanthropy created by John D. Rockefeller to aid education in the United States. It premiered at the Negro Exposition in Chicago in 1940. The subject was the state of Negro education in the South; its intent was to show both progress and continuing need.
Charlene Alexander Mitchell is an African American international socialist, feminist, labor and civil rights activist. Formerly a member of the Communist Party USA, which she joined at 16 – emerging as one of the most influential leaders in the party from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She was the first Black woman to run for President of the United States.
Click on the links below to explore the idea of cultural hegemony.

Huffpost has a great article on white cultural hegemony with lots of embedded links. Click here.
*Portions of this unit are adapted from the San Francisco Unified Public School District's course on ethnic studies.