We learn about American history since the days of kindergarten. We can recall that George Washington was the first president, that there are fifty states, and we know the Civil War was between the North and the South. We know this part of history like the back of our hands, but we only the same story in the same perspective. We are taught how pilgrims had the courage to journey across the world to a new land where they knew nothing about, and how the U.S government had to expand the country from coast to coast as it was their destiny given by the power of God. I can tell you all about how America spread their democracy all across the world, but I don’t know if I can tell you all about Latinx involvement in American history. So, do we need Latinx representation in U.S education?
Sitting in my Latin@ Studies lecture every Tuesday and Thursday, I learn something new each time. A new piece of history of my heritage is revealed to me each time I sit in my seat twice a week for fifty minutes. I have learned more about Latinx people in U.S history in the past two weeks since the spring semester started than I learned in my first twelve years of school. For example, I had to read Juan Gonzalez’s book, Harvest of Empire, for my Latin@ Studies class, and I learned for the first time that Mexicans were attacked and lynched during the Gold Rush because they had more experiencing with mining, thus having a higher success at finding gold. This is an important piece of history that should be talked about; there is no reason why we shouldn’t know this. In the twelve years, the most I remember learning about Latinx people is pachucos, and even they were portrayed in a negative stereotype. We were taught that pachucos were dangerous and only started riots as with the Zoot Suit Riots, but they were actually a complex group that defied their stereotypes and decided their own identities. The negative stereotype not only goes towards pachucos, but Latinx people in general. Because of this, we need to know more about our past.
As Latinx, we need to learn about our own history. We need to know about how Mexicans were treated when Mexico became part of the United States, about how Cubans were considered in America as they were refugees during the Cuban Revolution, and we need to know about how Puerto Ricans were thought as when they became an American territory. The United States itself has had a huge involvement in Latin American countries, so we need to learn about how the American government would use military occupations and force to politically and economically conquer other nations. We have a duty to learn the truth from all perspectives, and not just the view of the “white man’s burden”. If we’re being taught just that, we’re just going to keep learning from the white man’s version and buy into the lies that would say “Americans were the savior of the world”. Learning the truth about our past will teach us about who we are today, and how we can progress this world to a better future.
With a new president being sworn in, we have a new Secretary of Education coming in, as well. This is the person who deals with federal education policy, and this person has the power to alter what we learn in public education and how. Betsy DeVos has no experience with public education, so can we count on her to do what’s best for us? Would she support the teaching of Latinx history? Arizona lawmakers already introduced a law where they would “ban any school courses or extracurricular activities that ‘promote’ any kind of ‘social justice’ or ‘solidarity’ based on race, class, gender, politics, or religion”. There are now laws being proposed telling public schools what they can and can’t teach, and this law specifically could erase teaching the truth behind Latinx history. How are we supposed to ever learn about the truth if we aren’t being taught different perspectives of history?
Here’s to hope of a better education system where we can have representation of Latinx history in American history because we all know too well that it did exist. This country is not just white Americans, and the education system should be able to correctly depict the real history of America. It should be able to connect to all types of student who come from different backgrounds and properly show their history, too. And yes, that includes Latinx representation.