Ethnic Studies Journal # 1: Chicanos Education Movement

First of all, I could not believe I had never heard of the Chicanos for Education movement. My friend, Ana told our Ethnic Studies LLC after we watched the film that her cousins went to the school that was featured. I was still in a slight daze. I had never heard of the movement, not once. While watching the film, I kept thinking back to the PBS special I'd see called "Last Stand at Wounded Knee" and thinking about how all the interviews in the Chicano film echoed all the words of the interviewed participants in the protest at Wounded Knee. I wish we could have played two scenes from both of the films side by side. There was a part in the film we watched that talked about how Chicano were put in Chicano schools and segregated from their families to learn about how to "white" or American. The very same thing happened to the young children from Indian families. If you compared photographs or film, it would look exactly the same.

It should not be surprising they were so similar, but it was, because I know that within ethnic communities there is racism. I wish people would just band together for the better cause instead of fighting amongst themselves or with one another. So much more could be done or could have been done if people had united together. I am aware in some cases they did, but it seems to have been forgotten now.

The stories that were told by old students or teachers shocked me. I couldn't get over one man who said that he told a school counselor that his father had worked at a hard labor job or harvested crops and the counselor had said, "You should do what your father does." I am only paraphrasing, because I do not remember the incident clearly, but I remember my reaction. I remember the room's reaction. I could audible scoffs or people gawking. I know some of the noise came from me. People are known not to edit their speech, but how can a person tell someone that? An ignorant person? I am certain that people say what they say, not because they are not informed or educated, they are being deliberate. They didn't want to see Chicano educated and rise into high paying jobs or make careers for themselves. They just wanted to see them where they were. How anyone could wish that on a person, I'll never understand.