From “Hell No!” to “¿Que Pasó?”: Interrogating a Hispanic-Serving Institution Possibility

Abstract

Some Hispanic students are making it through the Eurocentric, United Statesian education pipeline, but exponentially more are failing. Meanwhile, poor Chican@ communities are disproportionately suffering from unemployment, low levels of education, chronic illness, pollution, and myriad social ills. At this historical crossroads, it behooves Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and surrounding communities to establish and nurture true partnerships from a grassroots approach rather than an already-attempted institutional approach. “We” need to connect today's educational “crisis” to a historical, assimilationist trajectory that undermined and deteriorated our communities and our gente with a purposeful, racist backdrop. We call for a reinvigorated HSI mandate.

Keywords:

• HSI
• education system
• assimilationist
• community
• curriculum
• cultural wealth
• activist academics
• kitchen scientists—abuelitas