CCCESFC
The Founding of Ethnic Studies
The term "Ethnic Studies" was coined by Dr. Nathan Hare at his introduction to the Council of Academic Deans, SFSU (Spring, 1968)
Historical Origins of Ethnic Studies at Community Colleges
Before the student strike for Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU) in1968. Black Student activism at Merritt College resulted in California Community College's first established Black history classes in 1964 and the nation's first degree granting Black Studies Department in 1967 with transferable courses anywhere in American higher education. Thus, it was the community college system that established the first Black Studies Department (Ethnic Studies) in the nation, one full year before the student strike at San Francisco State University.
Continued student activism by People of Color would lead to the hiring of Sid Walton as the first Black tenure track faculty at Merritt College in 1965. By June of 1968, Dr. Norvell Smith would become the first Black president of higher education in California. This effort created the foundation and pathway for subsequent courses and departments to emerge in Chicano Studies and later in Ethnic Studies.
Why Ethnic Studies?
The Need for Culturally Congruent Education in American Higher Education
Since its inception in the late 1960s, Ethnic Studies curriculum has rejected the historical typecasting of People of Color as nameless, faceless, side-players, or victims of imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and white supremacy. Rather, Ethnic Studies frames People of Color as agents and instigators of change and producers of knowledge, with rich intellectual traditions rooted in cultural practices.
From their origins to the present,
Ethnic Studies disciplines play a critical role of challenging Eurocentrism within higher education, as well as ensuring that diverse histories, experiences, and theoretical frameworks are valued, debated, and expanded upon in all sectors of society.
