Ethnic Studies

Community Food Spaces, Cultural Wealth & Resilience

2 Days (55 Minute Classes), Grade 11-12

How do community food spaces reflect cultural wealth and resilience? Students will learn about the almost century-long history of Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino, California founded in 1937 by Lucia Rodriguez, and explore the historical significance of the space as a community hub, site of politics, and celebration. From sponsoring student historical theatre and community meals such as Feed the IE to hosting civil rights leaders like Cesar Chavez, Mitla’s significance in the community is historic and ongoing. Students will discuss the geographical and institutional challenges faced by Mitla Cafe, such as redlining, segregation, freeway infrastructure, and highlight the resilience that allowed cultural wealth to thrive, such as lowrider cruising, the cafe as a civil rights center, and community events for West San Bernardino. As extension activities, students can also learn about Glen Bell and the founding of Taco Bell (1964), as it relates to Mitla Cafe and Taco Tia (1954)  in Redlands and San Bernardino.

Curriculum Activism Business Ethnic Studies Latina/o/x San Bernardino

Baseball & Civil Rights

2 Day Lesson (55 Minute period), Grade 9-12

How did Baseball help forge community ties and a strong sense of ethnic identity, pride, and power that was necessary for the fight for civil rights? Students will explore the impact of segregation on communities of color, with a particular focus on the Latino community in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Students will analyze an excerpt from the book Mexican American Baseball in the Inland Empire, an oral history from South Colton and photographs highlighting Latino baseball and softball players during the era of segregation. Through critical discussion and analysis, students will develop a broader perspective on how segregation shaped everyday life and how the community resisted by forging community pride, support, and identity as they fought in the ongoing struggle for civil rights.

 

Curriculum Civil Rights Colton Community Leaders Ethnic Studies Latina/o/x Riverside San Bernardino

Building Spaces of Belonging, Resistance & Care in the IE

4-day lesson (55-minute class periods)

How have Inland Empire communities built and sustained spaces of belonging, resistance, and care across generations? Students use historical images from Riverside’s Eastside to explore the concept of spatial entitlement, the idea that marginalized communities have the right to claim and shape space for belonging, resistance, and care. Students will learn the concept of spatial entitlement through  personal reflection, an analysis of Orange Valley Lodge, and the study of sonic spaces inspired by Gaye Theresa Johnson’s Spaces of Conflict, Sounds of Solidarity. Students will then research a local Inland Empire space and creating a historical “postcard” that illustrates how the site embodies spatial entitlement. The lesson culminates with a peer postcard exchange and analysis, deepening their understanding of local histories and the power of place.

Curriculum African American Asian American Business Community Leaders Ethnic Studies Latina/o/x Native American Riverside

Historical Markers & Sacred Sites: Pá’čapa & Mt Rubidoux

2-3 Days (55 minute classes), 11-12 Grade

Which sites are remembered, how are they remembered, and who has the power to decide? In this multi-day lesson, students will look at historical markers and sacred sites in order to explore concepts of colonialism, displacement, and forced assimilation and their impact on Southern California Native people. Students will examine how sites like Pá’čapa or Mt Rubidoux are remembered and have the opportunity to write/rewrite a historical marker that centers the indigeneity of the Inland Empire and proximal areas.

Curriculum Ethnic Studies Native American Riverside

School Desegregation in Riverside & San Bernardino

2-3 Days (55 minute classes), Grade 11-12

How did communities in Riverside and San Bernardino challenge educational segregation, and what do their efforts reveal about the ongoing struggle for educational justice? This lesson introduces students to the underrepresented history of educational segregation and resistance in the Inland Empire, particularly San Bernardino and Riverside. Students will analyze primary sources and maps, hear community voices, and interview elders to construct a more inclusive narrative of civil rights history. They will apply historical thinking concepts to assess the causes, consequences, and varied community responses to segregation and integration. Students will demonstrate their learning by selecting a method that best suits their learning style.

Curriculum Civil Rights Education Ethnic Studies Riverside San Bernardino Segregation

Intersectional Identity and Community Support Groups

2 Days (55 Minute Class)

How do community support groups honor our intersectional identity? Students will examine the influence of community support groups and explore intersectionality. Students will engage in a historical analysis of important figures in the Inland Empire community, analyze examples of mission statements from community support groups, and dissect the purpose of community support groups and their principles. For the culminating project, students will work in groups to create their own mission statement in support of a community group of their choice, along with five principles to identify and support a specific group.

Curriculum Activism Civil Rights Community Leaders Ethnic Studies Intersectionality LGBTQIA+

Harada Family: House on Lemon Street

This lesson plan provides students the opportunity to use local primary sources to learn about Japanese immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century and the ways California and federal laws created land ownership barriers for Japanese Americans. Students will learn how the Harada family in Riverside challenged racial housing restrictions and ultimately launched a historic legal court case that reaffirmed the rights of American-born children of immigrants were entitled to all the constitutional guarantees of citizenship under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, including land ownership. The lesson plan provides a way to connect local history to national laws like the 1790 Naturalization Act (which excluded non-white immigrants from becoming citizens), the 14th Amendment, and the 1913 CA Land Law.

Curriculum Asian American Civil Rights Ethnic Studies Housing Immigration Riverside

Reimagining Citrus Labels

In this lesson, students will learn how citrus crate labels often tell an inaccurate history of the land and those who worked it. Through audio, visual, and other archival materials, students will see that the labor that went into making the citrus industry an empire was built on the backs of exploitation and colonization, but communities of color resisted and continue to resist to this day, not only advocating for accurate history to be told but that communities of color should also be the ones centered in telling this stories. At the end of the lesson, students will create and design their own crate label as a creative counter-narrative to tell a more accurate story of the land and labor of the Inland Empire.

Curriculum Citrus Ethnic Studies Immigration Labor Native American

How do we remember our community’s history?

55 Minutes

The purpose of this lesson is to reflect on how we remember the contributions of those who may not be as visible in the stories of our local communities, particularly historically marginalized groups. This calls into question how we think about the terms that we use for people in our communities as well as ourselves, and the changing nature of names, identities and narratives surrounding them.

Curriculum Asian and Pacific Islander Ethnic Studies History

How have shifts in land use in and around Mira Loma, CA contributed to evolving social justice movements?

3 Days, 55 minute periods

This ethnic studies lesson plan explores the intersection of land, labor, and logistics in Mira Loma, CA, emphasizing the 4’Is of oppression, social justice, and sustainable development. It dives into Mira Loma’s history, along with the social justice movements emerging in response to the area’s growing logistics centers. The lesson encourages active learning and critical thinking through discussions, written reflections, and a creative task where students respond to the essential question through the creation of a comic strip.

Curriculum Environmental Justice Ethnic Studies History

What did housing segregation look like in the Inland Empire in the 1920s-1970’s?

55 Minutes

Students will learn about housing segregation and its effects on Black communities across the country. Students will then explore primary source documents regarding housing segregation in the Inland Empire from 1920-1970. Students will synthesize the information to write a paragraph answering the questions – What did housing segregation look like in the Inland Empire and how do you think this history may have affected the communities you live in today?

Curriculum Ethnic Studies Grade 12 History Segregation
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