CEETL Latinx Solidarity Statement & Teaching Resources

Latinx Solidarity Statement & Teaching Resources Banner

Solidarity Statement

 
As educators, as colleagues, and as a community, CEETL stands in solidarity with our Latinx communities.
SFSU’s unique geographic context means our student body is made up of diverse demographics. In 2016, San Francisco State University was designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). HSIs are defined under the Higher Education Act as colleges or universities where at least 25 percent of the undergraduate, full-time enrollment is Hispanic, and at least half of the institution's degree-seeking students are low-income. About 35 % of SFSU’s student population is Latinx, and about 7% of SFSU faculty is Latinx.
While there is still work to be done to increase the number of Latinx faculty on campus, as a larger community we need to make this solidarity statement and address the particular issues/struggles of Latinx students on our campus and beyond.
  • We support building pedagogies and relational approaches that honor the epistemologies and lived experiences of our Latinx student body as a part of their cultural community wealth.
  • We support building a more robust understanding of Latinx identities and the dynamic understandings of race and ethnicity for all folks in the Latinx community.
  • We support the call within the Latinx community for more gender expansive language structures that include trans, non-binary, and genderqueer folks and move beyond the gender binary.
  • We support our Latinx faculty, staff, and students who have struggled from facing anti-Latinx and anti-Immigrant rhetoric in U.S. political spheres and U.S. mainstream media.
  • We support Latinx community members who face barriers due to their migrant status, who face language barriers, and/or whose documentation status influences their access to basic services and needs.
CEETL, in partnership with Dr. Carolina Prado and the Latina/Latino Studies department has prepared this teaching resource guide to support you in your teaching. 
Please note: This teaching guide is available as a living document and we encourage all community members to continually contribute new resources by contacting us. This webpage will be updated on an ongoing basis to reflect newly curated resources, and categories will be expanded/revised as needed.

 

A Word about Words

 

What is the difference between Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx/Latine?

Hispanic

Latino/a

Latinx/Latine

 The U.S Congress passed Public Law 94-311 in 1976, mandating the collection of information about U.S. residents of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American and other Spanish-speaking country origins.

The term Hispanic was first used in a full census in 1980

(Pew Research Center, 2020).

The 1990s brought resistance to the term Hispanic, as it embraced a strong connection with Spain, and an alternative term emerged: Latino. By 1997, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget issued a directive adding the term Latino to government publications.  (Pew Research Center, 2020).

Latinx is the gender-neutral alternative to Latina or Latino.

The term Latinx was reportedly first used online in 2004.

 

Latine is also a gender-neutral form of the word Latino, created by gender non-binary and feminist communities in Spanish-speaking countries (Why Latinx/e, El Centro Colorado State University).

 

 

Latinx/Latine: Resources on gender expansive language

As Educators we need to teach about how...

 

  • Latinidades are diverse

    • Latinxs are not a monolith. There has been a historic gap in understanding the role of Afro-Latinx, central American and Indigenous communities, and it’s important to address this gap in our teaching.
  • Anti-Latinx and Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric are Harmful
    • U.S. politicians and mainstream media have used powerful platforms to spread hateful rhetoric against Latinx and immigrant communities. This rhetoric has resulted in violence against Latinx communities as evidenced by the El Paso ___ shooting and anti-Latinx hate crimes.
  • Mass Incarceration and Immigration Enforcement Violence is Impactful to Latinx Communities
    • A key struggle for Latinx communities in the U.S. is the impact that mass incarceration and Immigration Enforcment violence impacts  immigrants and their families. From anti-immigrant policing legislation to the violence of detention centers, this issue impacts Latinx health and safety.
  • Undocumented students and community members have unique struggles
    • Students and community members who are undocumented have particular struggles with access to education, health outcomes, access to basic services and can be more vulnerable to labor exploitation.

 

Learning Outcomes for Faculty Development on Latinx Equity in Education

 

  1. Identify and assess personal goals for incorporating Latinx perspectives in teaching.
  2. Examine and demonstrate knowledge of historical and contemporary institutional and individual racism and colonialism in relationship to Latinx  people.
  3. Integrate Latinx knowledge and pedagogy practices into current assignments, assessments, and teaching practices.
  4. Design strategies for inclusive and equitable engagement of  Latinx students.

SF State and CSU Latinx Resources

 

Educational Resources

Presente! A Latino History of the United States

Latinx Immigration History

Hubs for Research on Latinx Issues

There are dynamic conversations happening around the term Latino/a/x/e and the ways Latinidad has historically erased indigenous and black communities/struggles. Here are some readings on these conversations:

Conversations on Latinidad

Three main areas where there are historic gaps in terms of understanding Latinidad: Afro-Latinxs, Central Americans and Indigenous communities. Here are some good resources to understand more:

Afro-Latinx Communities

Central American Communities

 

Indigenous Communities

Latinx Allyship - Activism and Advocacy

There are dynamic conversations happening around the term Latino/a/x/e and the ways Latinidad has historically erased indigenous and black communities/struggles. Here are some readings on these conversations:

Conversations on Latinidad

Contact Us to Contribute to These Resources

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