Penn State

Consortium forSocial Movements and Education
Research and Practice

The Other Struggle for Equal Schools: Mexican Americans During the Civil Rights Era

The Other Struggle for Equal Schools: Mexican Americans During the Civil Rights Era

Rubén Donato
1997
1997

Abstract

Contrary to popular belief that the struggle for educational opportunity during the civil rights era was waged exclusively by African Americans, this fascinating book shows that the Mexican American population challenged discriminatory educational practice more than was portrayed by the media. Examining the Mexican American struggle for equal education during the 1960s and 1970s in the Southwest in general and in a California community in particular, Donato challenges conventional wisdom that Mexican Americans were passive victims, accepting their educational fates. He looks at how Mexican American parents confronted the relative tranquility of school governance, how educators responded to increasing numbers of Mexican Americans in schools, how school officials viewed problems faced by Mexican American children, and why educators chose specific remedies. Finally, he examines how federal, state, and local educational policies corresponded with the desires of the Mexican American community.

Abstract

Contrary to popular belief that the struggle for educational opportunity during the civil rights era was waged exclusively by African Americans, this fascinating book shows that the Mexican American population challenged discriminatory educational practice more than was portrayed by the media. Examining the Mexican American struggle for equal education during the 1960s and 1970s in the Southwest in general and in a California community in particular, Donato challenges conventional wisdom that Mexican Americans were passive victims, accepting their educational fates. He looks at how Mexican American parents confronted the relative tranquility of school governance, how educators responded to increasing numbers of Mexican Americans in schools, how school officials viewed problems faced by Mexican American children, and why educators chose specific remedies. Finally, he examines how federal, state, and local educational policies corresponded with the desires of the Mexican American community.

Social Movements

Civil rights movement

Keywords

Latin America, North America, Policy, Public Schooling, Race

Theme

Social Movements Within; Through; and for Public Education