“The Complete Disregard for Our Children’s Lives, the Targeting of a Community That Can’t Fight Back:” Families’ Testimonios on Resisting School Closures on the U.S.-Mexico Border

Joshua Acevedo, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

Through the use of Latinx Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), with testimonios as a method of inquiry, this study analyzed families’ experiences that led them to resist school closures. This study also chronicled families’ experiences with the transition to new schools, after the school closures. Once schools closed, families described their transition to new schools. LatCrit was applied to interpret school closures through a social justice lens and understand how families experienced interconnected oppression related to their race/ethnicity, class, culture, immigration status, socioeconomic status, language, environment, and gender. The testimonialistas in this study were all members of Familias Unidas del Chamizal, a group that organized around various issues that had impacted Barrio Chamizal, located in South Central El Paso, Texas for many years. Participants stated that the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) ignored family concerns and had no consideration for the impact that school closures would have on families and their children. Participants felt that EPISD devalued Chamizal families for not speaking English and being poor, Immigrants of Color. The testimonialistas shared that the school district targeted a community that could not fight back against a system of power and politics. This study raises implications for research and practice.

Subject Area

Education|Education Policy|Educational administration

Recommended Citation

Acevedo, Joshua, "“The Complete Disregard for Our Children’s Lives, the Targeting of a Community That Can’t Fight Back:” Families’ Testimonios on Resisting School Closures on the U.S.-Mexico Border" (2021). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI28497522.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI28497522

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