Changing the Narrative – Mexican American Studies & Democratizing Racial Justice

Guillermo Enrique Eliseo, or William Henry Ellis, worked his entire life to shape his own identity as a Black man born to formerly enslaved parents, in Texas, during the U.S. Civil War. From ranch hand to wealthy Mexican businessman, Ellis’ light skin and Spanish-language fluency allowed him to travel throughout the United States, Mexico, and beyond, adapting his identity as needed to navigate the changing world. His personal identity, however, was inseparable from the nuances of social structure at the time. For example, in 1880, Ellis moved to San Antonio – then the center of commercial trade with Mexico – and when his sharecropping business failed, the city directory put a “C” by his name, denoting “colored.”

Ellis’ real life was later adapted into a book and his story is now part of a series of Teaching Guides created to expand the reach of racial justice and Ethnic Studies. This particular assignment, designed by Dr. Enrique Dávila – a Carlos Castañeda Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin – is part of the 2022 Teaching Guide. Dávila is among the numerous educators throughout the country who have contributed to the Ethnic Studies Teaching Guides since 2021. This assignment and others like it push us to think critically about course content and the call for educators to create culturally relevant and responsive classrooms.

The Mexican American Studies Program at Northwest Vista College had a hand in developing these Teaching Guides and shaping evolving Ethnic Studies programs in Texas. UTSA was awarded a three-year, $5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2021 and NVC was selected to receive a three-year sub-award to participate in the project.

Dr. Sandra D. Garza, associate professor, and program coordinator for NVC’s Mexican American Studies (MAS), is the project liaison for the Alamo Colleges. She is the grant project manager and worked closely with the UTSA coordinating team, Dr. Lisa Ramos (SAC), and Dr. Lori Beth Rodriguez (PAC) to coordinate the Ethnic Studies Educators’ Academy (ESEA) and ESEA Teaching Guides for the last three years.

The Summer Academies invited Ethnic Studies to work on specific assignments that they can take back to their home institutions while engaging with inspirational speaker panels comprised of community partners, current Ethnic Studies students/alumna from African American, Asian American, Mexican American, and Native American Studies Programs, and Ethnic Studies scholars. Academy graduates then applied to continue working on their assignment for inclusion in a co-created Ethnic Studies Teaching Guide.

The 2021 Academy centered on teaching with the “Resolution Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis in San Antonio,” published by the City Council in 2020. The 2022 and 2023 Academies focused on implementing specific anti-racist approaches and methods with an emphasis on activism and active learning. The 2022 Guide – “Fighting Racial Injustice: Activist Educators and Ethnic Studies” – offers an outline of Ethnic Studies programs in Texas, an overview of the hallmarks of Ethnic Studies, and seven original assignments with learning outcomes and grading rubrics. The Coordinating Team is currently working on the last Teaching Guide.

Visit the UTSA DRJ Mellon Just Futures Grant Project website for more information, including links to Teaching Guides: https://rrpress.utsa.edu/collections/64248278-1725-446d-870a-bf51a0c6f8b9