BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
Hispanic Heritage Month is here, but high school students in some schools won’t earn any college credit if they enroll in a Latino history course, due to the efforts of governors of at least three Republican-led states.
Arkansas recently course credit for Advanced Placement classes focusing on minorities, including Black and Latino history. Some local officials and academics say that it could eventually happen here, in Missouri too, and that it sets a dangerous precedent. Last month, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former White House press secretary during the Trump administration, signed a bill limiting what can be taught in public schools, according to an Aug. 14 story from NBC News. The action follows discussion of similar action from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year. In advanced placement classes, high school students earn credit for college-level classes while in high school. Under Arkansas’ Department of Education, high school students may still take classes focusing on minority populations, but they won’t earn credit that transfers to colleges.
“I think in general this discussion is really more about fear and the belief that teaching classes that tell the history of Latinos in the United States is negative and promotes anger regarding that history. It’s really about telling the whole picture about the contributions Latinos have made and the relationships the United States has had in various countries,” said Dr. Theresa Torres, a professor at UMKC who teaches classes on race, ethnic and gender studies.
She continued, using the Mexican-American War as an example of basic, verifiable facts that must be taught as part of a larger lesson about Hispanic history and its effects.
“It’s not about making judgments about what happened in history. The U.S. and Mexico did have a war, and that war ended with a portion of the U.S. that was part of Mexico becoming part of the U.S. That includes Texas, parts of Kansas, a large portion of California, Arizona, that were once part of what you would call Northern Mexico,” Torres said. “That’s a fact, but most often, students don’t see what really happened in depth, and (these classes) are an opportunity to look at what happened in a deeper way.”
Those who read political bias into facts are wrong to do so, she added.
“It’s not about trying to say one country is better than another country,” Torres said. “It’s trying to teach history based on fact, and the facts are what happened.”
Now, students wishing to take classes on Latino or Black history might not have the academic incentive, she explained, even though such classes focused on a minority population helps students better understand their culture overall.
“Every class a student takes, they want to know it’s going to count for graduation credit,” Torres said. “Otherwise, in their mindset, it’s a waste of time. … My students have told me that after taking Latino or Black Studies courses that they have a greater understanding of their own culture, and they have a greater sense of pride and self-confidence as a result of that.”
One of those learners, Lauren Orozco, a UMKC graduate student, took a Latino Studies course at the college. She said it filled a large knowledge gap that her other schools had left unfulfilled up until that point.
“I began taking the classes because I always had a curious mind about where my people stood in history. In my K-12 years, Latinos and their place in history were never mentioned,” Orozco said. “It was always an empty spot for me, and when I heard that UMKC had a Latinx and American Studies minor, I thought it would be a good idea to learn about where we stand in history and where we’ll go when I’m finished with these studies.”
Orozco, who grew up in the Armourdale neighborhood of Kansas City, KS, said she thinks the move by those in power in Arkansas is wrong.
“There shouldn’t be restrictions on that type of study. Learning about the history of the people who make up this country – it should be an encouraged part of education,” she said. “When I was going into college, my dad was trying to obtain his documented status in the U.S., and now he’s a citizen. The class really made me appreciate the sacrifices my parents made in coming to this country, and it definitely opened my eyes to the importance of being active in my community and being informed.”
Orozco also said the classes made her feel more welcome to UMKC as a Latino student.
“I wouldn’t have felt as strong of a presence at UMKC without the existence of the Latinx classes,” she said. “It’s hard, especially in a predominantly white institution to find a place where you feel at home. But when you have a curriculum that represents your history, it creates a home for you.”
Fewer students will feel such a welcoming atmosphere if such a restriction on Latinx classes spreads, said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO).
“There is a great deal of fear because the country is turning black and brown in numbers that frighten others. … Instead of saying, ‘We’ll have the most diverse nation on the planet and celebrate our differences,’ that’s not happening,” Cleaver said of conservative evangelicals. “They’re getting scared and reacting. Next they’ll say Texas was never a part of Mexico.”
Cleaver encouraged more people to speak out against what’s happening to education in Republican-led states.
“We all have to respond that when you come in and start to squash the real history of people of color who are Americans, we cannot be silent and passive,” Cleaver said. “The response has to be greater.”
The youths of this country deserve better, Orozco said in agreement.
“Young people should know the entirety of the country’s history, and Latinos are part of that history,” she said. “It’s a pivotal part. You have to share the whole story.”
