25 years after Prop 187: I was a middle schooler who walked out in protest of Prop 187, now I’m a high school teacher because of it.

"I was a middle school student who walked out in protest of CA Proposition 187, Looking back 25 years later I know I'm a high school Chicano/Latino Studies teacher because of it". By Irene Sanchez Irene Sanchez, Ph.D. is a high school teacher, writer, and poet. She is the author of the blog Xicana Ph.D. … Continue reading 25 years after Prop 187: I was a middle schooler who walked out in protest of Prop 187, now I’m a high school teacher because of it. →

You the Educators…

You the Educators... By Irene Sanchez After Corky Gonzales You the Xicana/o/x educators... We have the responsibility of educating our young people and setting an example not just to them, but to each other, our families, and our communities. We need to know and realize that the young people are always watching. That begins at … Continue reading You the Educators… →

Why We Still Need Chicano/Latino Studies

Why we still need Chicanx/Latinx Studies By Irene Sanchez A student last year in my Latinx Studies class wrote, "If I am not myself, who will I be?" I asked myself when I read it: Who would I be? Would I be bowed head, eyes lowered, and ashamed? Would I be neither here nor there? … Continue reading Why We Still Need Chicano/Latino Studies →

How We Survive

How We Survive By Xicana Ph.D. I am here. This is a meditation and prayer. This was the first sentence of my dissertation. It is an affirmation that as long as I am still breathing there is work to be done. This is how I not only "made it" through my Ph.D., but how I … Continue reading How We Survive →

The Time Was Yesterday: Activism in Urgent Times

The Time was Yesterday: Activism in Urgent Times By: Irene Sanchez Xicana Ph.D. The time was yesterday that something needed to be done about the U.S. government holding children in cages and separating them from their parents. The time was yesterday that something needed to be done to support the lives, health, and well being … Continue reading The Time Was Yesterday: Activism in Urgent Times →

Protests, Movement, and Memory: The Chicano Moratorium

Protests, Movement, and Memory: The Chicano Moratorium By Irene Sanchez Xicana Ph.D Originally published on The Southwest Political Report August 29, 2018 Protests have been used to challenge injustice in society. The freedom to peacefully assemble is part of the first amendment rights of the U.S. constitution. Time and time again these so-called guaranteed rights … Continue reading Protests, Movement, and Memory: The Chicano Moratorium →

Stop reinforcing the status quo inside or outside academia

Stop reinforcing the status quo inside or outside academia By Xicana Ph.D. The ivory tower as a whole doesn’t uplift anything, but those who reinforce it. It reinforces existing power. The status quo. A lot of folks within it do too. A lot of people who preach social justice do it every single day. Let’s … Continue reading Stop reinforcing the status quo inside or outside academia →