Erasing Differences for the Sake of Inclusion: How Mexican/Mexican American Students Construct Historical Narratives

Abstract

Mendez v. Westminster, a case about 1940s Mexican American school segregation, is a new vehicle for including Mexican Americans into U.S. history classrooms. This study explores how a class of primarily Mexican American students, who because of their heritage might develop a personal connection to the case, made sense of Mendez. The findings suggest that Mendez is subsumed under the larger Black Civil Rights narrative and stripped of its unique aspects. The inclusion of Mexican Americans into the history narrative is contingent on their story being analogous to the Black experience. Consequently, students learn an oversimplified understanding of Mexican American discrimination and race/ethnicity.

Keywords:

• history education
• history narratives
• Mexican American students
• narrative construction
• race/ethnicity
• school segregation

Notes

1. ¹The Mendez children were, in fact, half Puerto Rican on their mother’s side. The children’s ethnicity, however, was of no consequence during the trial, as the suit was specific to Mexican American students.

2. ²Pseudonyms have been used for all names of participants.