Teaching Racially Complex Histories in K–12 Context

The presentation will focus on how K-12 history can be used to analyze the historical roots of racism in the U.S. This session addresses the call to more effectively use history classrooms as spaces for exploring and discussing issues of race/ethnicity (Howard, 2004; Ladson-Billings, 2003; Pang, Rivera, & Gillete, 1998; Wills, 2001). The need to engage students and educators in conversations around race/ethnicity and racism has become increasingly important. The racial discourse in the U.S., whether advocating for color-blindness or emboldened anti-Black and anti-immigrant rhetoric, is ahistorical. With this problem in mind, this presentation explores pedagogical practices that might help students reconsider how race/ethnicity and racism function in the U.S.

The basis for this presentation is the argument that Mexican-origin communities function in a racial/ethnic hierarchy influenced by both U.S. and Mexican standards. With this in mind, the presenter encourages teachers to engage their students in confronting anti-Indigeneity, anti-Blackness, and demystifying the idea of Mexican Americans as foreigners. The goal of such approach is to encourage educators and students to consider how racial discriminatory practices evolve to uphold White supremacy and how Mexicans and Mexican Americans have been complicit in that process. It is imperative that Latinx communities acknowledge their roles in reinforcing racial injustice if we are truly committed to dismantling racism.