My Ethnic Studies Kuwento: Healing and Liberation through Student Resource Centers

• In Event: Shaking the Table: Centering the Voices of Identity Center Practitioners

Abstract

Ethnic Studies was created in the 1960’s to fundamentally shift education to center Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) narratives in schools (Umemoto, 1989). Aligned with this overarching goal, the author describes how Ethnic Studies shaped their own journey toward finding healing and liberation through Student Resource Centers or Identity Centers. Specifically, the author discusses how as an undergraduate, both an Ethnic Studies education and Student Resource Center involvement provided the ripe environment for their development as a professional. The author describes the use of kuwentuhan (Jocson, 2008), an ancestral form of Filipinx storytelling, to tell the stories in their autoethnographic work. Reflecting on their own pathway through Ethnic Studies and Student Affairs, including examples as a professional overseeing an Undocumented Student Center and an Asian American Resource Center, the author illustrates how these spaces drive transformational change.

As a practice of ‘unforgetting history’, the author reconnects the roots of higher education Student Resources Centers to the Ethnic Studies movement. As a practice of ‘imagining futures’, the author also shares experiences of trauma and healing to demonstrate how Ethnic Studies Praxis in student resource centers goes beyond diversity retention strategies (Tintiangco-Cubales & Duncan-Andrade, 2021). Furthermore, the author shares the tensions experienced when reflecting on how their praxis conflicted with institutional values, offering insight into navigating these challenges while staying committed to liberation. By positioning these centers as spaces of resistance against oppression, they illustrate center practitioners' moral imperative to integrate Ethnic Studies Praxis to foster healing and liberation, particularly amidst contemporary attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives. Finally, the author concludes with reflections that emphasize the growing importance of humanizing the experiences of Resource Center practitioners as a form of survival.

Jocson, K. M. (2008). Kuwento as Multicultural Pedagogy in High School Ethnic Studies. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 3(4), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/15544800802355952
Tintiangco-Cubales, A., & Duncan-Andrade, J. (2021). Chapter 2: Still Fighting for Ethnic Studies: The Origins, Practices, and Potential of Community Responsive Pedagogy. Teachers College Record, 123(13), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146812112301303
Umemoto, K. (1989). “On Strike!” San Francisco State College Strike, 1968–69: The Role of Asian American Students. Amerasia Journal, 15(1), 3–41. https://doi.org/10.17953/amer.15.1.7213030j5644rx25

Author

• Michael R. Manalo-Pedro, Pomona College