Allison Adad
\nEthnic Studies Curriculum in California
\nSan Francisco State\u2019s fight for the college of Ethnic Studies was the first major triumph
\nfor, not only, ethnic studies, but specifically for students of color in academia. This sparked
\nmovements all over the U.S. that forced colleges to listen to the demands students had for their
\nschool to teach their truth. A similar time has come, but this time, for high school students in
\nCalifornia. The California Department of Education Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Advisory
\nCommittee (CDE) has been drafting an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) so high
\nschoolers would be given the chance to learn the narratives of marginalized groups in this
\ncountry through ethnic studies, this draft has finally come to the final round of approval before it
\nis finalized by California\u2019s Board of Education (Morrar). This all sounds like such promising
\nendeavors for BIPOC marginalized communities that are often not represented in the world of
\nacademia but ever since Assembly Bill No. 2016 was passed, which ignited the creation of this
\ncurriculum, there has been controversy regarding erasure of certain ethnic groups, such as Arab
\nAmericans, Palestinian Americans, Jewish Americans, and Pacific Islanders from the curriculum
\n(Morrar). There has been several revisions due to the abundant critiques from educators,
\nstudents, and members of the community but on February 2nd, 2021 the advisory committee
\nwriters for the ESMC requested there names be removed from the finalized curriculum (\u201cCA
\nEthnic Studies Writers Remove Their Names from State Curriculum, Insist It’s an Insult to
\nEthnic Studies.\u201d). This endeavor, of now 5 years, has seemed to be a beacon of hope for
\neducation being more inclusive and truthful, but this event has also demonstrated that this
\ncurriculum is not what dedicated ethnic studies activists hoped for, and that there is still great
\nwork to be done to ensure no erasure is committed .
\nThis fight is so crucial because it is a fight for representation. Representation of culture,
\nstruggle, and resistance. According to Lara Kiswani, a former professor of mine who actually
\nintroduced me to this bill, in a webinar hosted by Arab Resource and Organizing Center
\n(AROC): the right-wing backlash in the midst of the creation of the ESMC began in 2019 which
\ntargeted the removal of Arab American studies and the erasure of the Palestine; eventually the
\nCDE \u201cagreed to reinsert Arab and Asian American studies\u201d, but they have gutted the entire
\ncurriculum\u201d and it became a \u201cwhite-washed lesson plan\u201d. During the Webinar Jason Ferreira also
\npointed out the parallels between the fight for ethnic studies now, and in 1968 during the Third
\nWorld Liberation Front Strikes. He mentioned that we, the marginalized groups, have \u201cthe right
\nto define what constitutes ethnic studies,\u201d and calls out those opposing the original version of the
\nESMC and groups them to the same oppressors the TWLF faced (\u201cThe Fight for Ethnic Studies
\nin CA with Special Guest: Angela Davis.\u201d). This collection of ethnic studies experts on the
\nwebinar all emphasized that ethnic studies isn\u2019t just a department, it\u2019s who we are because of it\u2019s
\ninterconnectedness with out ancestors, our places of origin, our native language, and native land.
\nThe CDE continues to fail to prioritize the positive impact learning such valuable history could
\nhave on BIPOC children in high school, simply because ethnic studies does not fall under
\namericas white, colonial, cis-heteronormative, capitalist agenda. The people on the California
\nBoard of Education have most likely never taken an ethnic studies course yet have the power to
\ncreate a curriculum they think is best for children state-wide. The reason “educators and activist
\ngroups that the authors of the curriculum\u2019s original draft have demanded that their names be
\nremoved,\u201d is because the bill no longer reflects the committees vision for an authentic
\ncurriculum of ethnic studies pedagogy. During the webinar in February 2nd 2021, Allyson
\nTintiangco-Cubales is the one who announced the request that would be sent to the CDE to
\nremove their names \u201cfrom the association from the final document\u201d (Gardiner). This is
\nsomething that must have deeply troubled the original writers of the ESMC because their
\nintention in doing so was a genuine hope to empower BIPOC youth, but in the end they were not
\nable to fully resonate with their accomplishment. On March 19th, California officially approved
\nthe curriculum. This feels like a step forward but after investigating and understanding that this
\ncurriculum does not truly serve every oppressed group, it\u2019s hard to feel content. The process of
\nthis whole bill from start to finish, demonstrates the sacrifices marginalized groups make to resist
\nsystems of oppression, and how it\u2019s unfortunately it can still not be enough.
\nThis event is relevant to youth culture, race, and resistance, because at the heart of this
\nbattle to spread ethnic studies curriculum is the children that educators want to reach. All these
\nmovements taught at SFSU\u2019s Race & Resistance Curriculum involve historical movements, all
\nwith young people at the forefront. When young students are given representation in their history
\nbooks, it makes it easier for them to be courageous to be themselves unapologetically. In
\n\u201cA snapchat story: how black girls develop strategies for critical resistance in school\u201d by Lauren
\nKelly, we see this engagement from young girls in matters like racial equity stem from the use of
\nsocial media. Social Media is a tool that makes it easy to learn and when intricate topic (sample nursing essay examples by the best nursing assignment writing service)s related
\nto social justice are made easier to understand, it\u2019s likely that people will be more inclined to
\nlearning. We see this with a young girl named Layla, who sates she\u2019s already \u201clearned so much
\nabout disabled people\u2019s rights and erasure of Native Americans..in such a short time\u201d from
\nTwitter; this same student acknowledged that social media taught her about racial inequity, which
\n\u201cshe found lacking in her formal schooling\u201d (Kelly 381). Having ethnic studies as readily
\navailable resource in schools will help develop the ability to critically question ones
\nsurroundings and allow one to feel more compelled to be involved, which is the beginning of
\nactivism. Similarly, before the creation of the ethnic studies at SFSU, students from the Black
\nStudents Union demanded a Black studies department, because they knew they had a right to
\nlearn about their ancestors and they also knew that the truth could no longer be buried under a
\nwhite supremacist cloak (Bates). This fight for ethnic studies is still being fought.
\nI chose this article because ethnic studies is a framework that has changed my perspective
\nof my surroundings for the better. This article was a great learning tool for me to understand that
\nthere are multiple dimensions to an exiting issue, and so many different ways to critically
\nevaluate what the truth is and who is being primarly affected. On the surface, the ESMC seems
\nlike a curriculum that all activists were waiting for, but major news outlets only celebrated the
\nnewly approved curriculum and fail to mention the letter that the advisory committee sent to the
\nCDE, or the disapproval of the finalized curriculum from many ethnic studies educators and
\nstudents (\u201cCalifornia Adopts First Statewide Ethnic Studies High School Curriculum.\u201d). This
\noccurrence has shown me how prevalent erasure is and if we aren\u2019t constantly being active about
\npreventing it, then erasure will triumph. I see ethnic studies as a form of story telling, because
\none day if technology ceases to exist we will only be able to pass down what we know through
\nour words, and art, so this is why we must keep it alive.
\nWork Cited
\nBates, Karen Grigsby, and Shereen Marisol Meraji. \u201cThe Student Strike That Changed Higher Ed
\nForever.\u201d NPR, NPR, 21 Mar. 2019.
\n\u201cCA Ethnic Studies Writers Remove Their Names from State Curriculum, Insist It’s an Insult to
\nEthnic Studies.\u201d Save Arab American Studies, Arab Resources and Organizing
\nCommittee, 3 Feb. 2021.
\n\u201cCalifornia Adopts First Statewide Ethnic Studies High School Curriculum.\u201d NBC News, NBC
\nUniversal News Group, 19 Mar. 2021.
\nGardiner, Dustin. \u201cCalifornia’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum Sparks Sharp Divide as Vote Nears.\u201d
\nSan Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2021.
\nKelly, Lauren Leigh. (2018) A snapchat story: how black girls develop strategies for critical
\nresistance in school, Learning, Media and Technology, 43:4, 374-389, DOI:
\n10.1080\/17439884.2018.1498352
\nMorrar, Sawson. \u201cControversial Ethnic Studies Draft Approved by California Commission,
\nMoves to Final Round .\u201d The Sacramento Bee, The Sacramento Bee, 20 Nov. 2020.
\nMorrar, Sawson. \u201cWill the Ethnic Studies Plan Include Pacific Islanders and Arab Americans?
\nEventually .\u201d The Sacramento Bee, The Sacramento Bee, 14 Aug. 2020.
\n\u201cThe Fight for Ethnic Studies in CA with Special Guest: Angela Davis.\u201d Arab Resource Was &
\nOrganizing Center, Arab Resource Was & Organizing Center, 2 Feb. 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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