Resisting Educational Abandonment in Los Angeles: Recovering a Critical History of Activism in Williams

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The session weaves together diverse voices to present a powerful study focused on a recent, and mostly forgotten, chapter in California’s educational history. The symposium centers on the historic Williams v California lawsuit and the conditions that gave rise to a grassroots educational justice movement. In addition to bringing to light forgotten histories, the session also centers attention on “forgotten places” deserted by state authorities (Gilmore 2008). By bringing into focus specific schools and communities, namely Fremont High School in South LA, we seek to root discussions of educational justice in particular strategies, histories, and actors, situated in the local context of the host city.

Sub Unit

• Social Justice Action Committee

Chair

• Oscar Navarro, California State University - Long Beach

Papers

• The Hammer and Nails: Re-Constructing LA Schools After the Uprising - Esa Syeed, California State University - Long Beach

• Unforgetting History of Agency and Resistance: Fremont Students and Parents Take Action Against State-Sanctioned Discrimination - Diana A. Porras, California State University - Long Beach

• Examining Educators’ & Administrators’ Role in the Williams Case: A Case Study of Fremont High - Lluliana Alonso, California State University - Long Beach

Session Organizer

• Diana A. Porras, California State University - Long Beach

Discussant

• Oscar Navarro, California State University - Long Beach