Abstract
This research explored political repression and institutional marginalization of Ethnic Studies (ES) Movement leaders in California following the implementation of Assembly Bill 101. Although these leaders were instrumental in developing the state’s original ES Model Curriculum, many have been systematically excluded from ES implementation decisions in public schools. In addition to these leaders, ES educators and advocates across the state have also been politically targeted, actively marginalized, and excluded from shaping the future of Ethnic Studies. This study addressed a critical gap in the literature by amplifying the voices of K–12 ES Movement leaders with over a decade of experience expanding ES programs alongside teachers, students, BIPOC communities, grassroots organizers, and families.
Using a qualitative design grounded in testimonios, pláticas, and semistructured interviews, this study was informed by Chicana/Latina feminist epistemologies (Delgado Bernal, 1998; Delgado Bernal et al., 2012), critical race theory (Crenshaw, 1991; Ladson- Billings & Tate, 1995), community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), and the captive maternal framework (James, 2023a, 2023b, 2024). Five out of the six ES Movementleaders participated in a plática-based collaborative process to cocreate thematic categories. One participant was unable to attend due to her involvement in responding to a large U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in her community. This collaborative analysis drew on Latina/o Critical Race Methodology and the use of testimonios as a site of resistance and knowledge production (Pérez Huber, 2009). This practice also reflected a commitment to relational accountability (Wilson, 2008). A multiphase coding process (Pérez Huber, 2009; Saldaña, 2021), grounded in cultural intuition and participatory analysis, guided the interpretation of findings.
Findings indicated that cocreators experienced schooling as both a site of colonial harm and a space for resistance. They developed critical consciousness through struggle and sustained the movement through intergenerational mentorship and coalition-building. In vivo coding revealed recurring language and core values across testimonios (Saldaña, 2021), informing the development of the CONNECT Ethnic Studies Movement leadership (ESML) framework—a nonlinear, community-rooted model for cultivating ES Movement leadership across schools, families, and grassroots spaces.
This study contributes to scholarship on Ethnic Studies implementation, critical pedagogy (Fernández, 2019a; Freire, 2000; Givens, 2021; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Tintiangco-Cubales & Duncan-Andrade, 2021), teacher–activist leadership (Daus- Magbual et al., 2023; Mawhinney & Baker-Doyle, 2024; Montaño et al., 2002), and critical professional development (Kohli et al., 2015). It offers two key recommendations: (a) the application of the ESML framework as an organizing tool for educators, students, and communities; and (b) the establishment of Ethnic Studies and Critical ConsciousnessPraxis Committees (ESCCP)—a community-led structure designed to identify and address systemic barriers while advancing sustainable, liberatory Ethnic Studies programs in K–12 public education.