Unconstitutional Deportation of Mexican Americans during the 1930s: Family History and Oral History

Many educators are committed to multicultural education and are constantly seeking an inclusive curriculum voicing the diversity of the many cultural groups in the United States. The influential work of James Banks (1981, 1997, 2001) has encouraged a generation of educators to design a multicultural curriculum. Yet while this task remains an important goal for all educators so students may develop an understanding of their own history as well as a respect for the history of others, exclusion of the historical experience of the other is still apparent in many social science textbooks adopted by local and state boards of education. This article explores the topic of the unconstitutional deportation of Mexican Americans (American born citizens) during the 1930s and advocates for its inclusion in elementary and secondary social studies curricula, especially through the use of family history and oral history. Actual quotes from oral history interviews conducted by the author and others are included. This deportation is estimated to have involved 1-2 million people across the United States, with the majority of individuals involved being American born. Actual quotes from oral history interviews conducted by the author and others are included here. This deportation is estimated to have involved 1-2 million people across the United States, with the majority of individuals involved being American born (Balderrama, Rodriguez, 1995).