Why Study the History of Struggle for Education on Equal Terms?
Today, fifty years after Brown declared that education must be provided on “equal terms,” most low income African American and Latino students in Los Angeles attend schools with other low-income African American and Latino students. Many of these schools lack the bare essentials of a quality education—qualified teachers, decent facilities, adequate materials. As a consequence, far too many Los Angeles youth are denied the opportunity to succeed in school and contribute to the economic and political vitality of their communities.
History teaches us that these conditions are not inevitable. They result from policy choices about housing, employment opportunities, the criminal justice system, and of course education. When students do historical work—conducting interviews, examining historical records, analyzing census data—they begin to recognize how such policies shape the everyday experience of people in their communities. Students also become more conscious of the moments when young people like themselves have joined the struggle for education on equal terms. They can imagine an identity as historical agents. By engaging history, young people come to see themselves as authors of the future.
TCLA will publish student-created histories throughout the year. This May, TCLA will hold a series of community forums for young people to share their historical research. In our upcoming issues we will present strategies for conducting oral histories, finding and interpreting historical documents, and analyzing school and government data. In this issue, we offer a set of ideas for getting started on your Equal Terms Project.
