"This case is for us, and about us—but without us": The Mexican American Educational Agenda and School Desegregation in Denver, 1969-1974

In her paper, “ ‘This case is for us, and about us—but without us’: The Mexican American Educational Agenda and School Desegregation in Denver, 1969-1974,” Danielle Olden examines the educational experiences of... [ view full abstract ]

In her paper, “ ‘This case is for us, and about us—but without us’: The Mexican American Educational Agenda and School Desegregation in Denver, 1969-1974,”
Danielle Olden examines the educational experiences of Mexican American students in Denver public schools in the late 1960s and 1970s, when the city was engaged in a bitter citywide debate over pending school desegregation litigation. Although the plaintiffs' primary objective was achieving racial balance, many Mexican Americans argued that racial balance would not solve the problems they faced in the schools. Through their participation in the case and the community activism spawned by litigation, Mexican Americans provided a vision of equal educational opportunity that re-imagined the racialized contours of public education in the United States and challenged the Black/White Binary on which it was built.

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