1.6: Ethnic Studies and Protest (DISCUSSION)
In 3 paragraphs, discuss how this weeks lesson and lecture expanded your understanding on ethnic studies (as an academic discipline), protests and criminalization, and resistance to these ideas. If it did not expand to your understanding or you did not find it useful, please write why. Remember, this is a classroom space where your thoughts on the lessons will not negatively impact your grade as long as you prove you viewed the material. Please be respectful. I am specifically looking for how the lecture ties together with the Gilmore reading titled "The Good Protest", the criminalization of Ethnic Studies, and the sociological definition of criminalization vs. tradition.
You can use your own personal experience on questioning authority, seeing injustice, or wanting societal change. Think of this exercise as a free write, where you are jotting your thoughts down after absorbing the material. If you feel the need, you can respond to other classmates, and will earn 5 extra credit points if you do. Please be respectful and type using proper grammar and spelling. Please remember to bring up the different videos, readings, and the lecture you listened to earlier and tie them together for full credit.
1-Caroleen Eshaq
In general, I think that according to Gilmore’s The Good Protest is such an expanded the understanding of ethnic studies and resistance by challenging the myth of the “good” protest. Gilmore explains that this myth suggests that change was quickly achieved through nonviolent, orderly demonstrations, when in fact the struggle for racial justice was much longer, harder, and more complex. The lecture connected this to the way ethnic studies itself has been criminalized in certain states of USA, such as Arizona’s ban on Mexican American Studies, where resistance is framed as “un-American” simply because it does not match the narrative of past protests. This helped me see how history is sometimes rewritten to fit comfortable national stories, while ignoring the ongoing struggles of marginalized groups.
The lecture and videos both are connected to the sociological definition of criminalization. This is different from tradition. Tradition is about customs or practices that are passed down, while criminalization is about labeling certain behaviors, knowledge, or groups as threatening, inequality or illegal. For example, Smoking marijuana used to be criminalized, but now in many states it’s legal, so the question is: Why was it once criminal? Who benefited from making it illegal? Who was harmed (like certain communities being arrested more often)? Gilmore shows how protests that do not resemble the civil rights marches of the 1960s are often dismissed or seen as violent. Similarly, in modern times, ethnic studies programs and student activism have been criminalized not because they are harmful, but because they challenge dominant narratives of U.S. history and power. This shows how institutions can use criminalization to silence resistance, while at the same time praising a limited version of the past that feels “safe” to the majority.
The material encouraged me to examine the ways in which questioning that the authority is treated as a problem instead of an opportunity for growth or justice. I have seen examples where students or community members were labeled as “troublemakers” simply for asking why policies were unfair.
Glenda Gilmore is pointing out that this is a selective memory: people praise certain protests after the fact, but at the time, even those “good protests” were often criticized, criminalized, or resisted. Her critique is about how we create a comforting story around protest, instead of recognizing that real change usually comes from the kinds of protests that challenge power and make society uneasy. This shows that real change often comes from uncomfortable resistance, not just the polite, orderly kind that the public prefers to remember. Ethnic studies, protests, and resistance all challenge us to see injustice in broader terms and not accept myths that make it seem like struggles for equality are already finished. The readings and lecture together showed that protest is not only a right, but also a tradition of resistance that continues to be redefined in every generation.
2-Danae Moreno
After watching several videos and reading texts, my understanding on ethnic studies expanded drastically. These different pieces all had different stories with different experiences during different times in history, and even in the present. An example of this is the video of the “50th Anniversary of the SF State Student Strike.” In this video, it explained how students united and discussed the issues that were occurring, which later led to the longest campus strike in U.S history. This itself helped my understanding on ethnic studies because I myself did not know that so many students came together for five months and protested, not caring that it got violent, they just wanted to be heard.
Additionally, the text named “The Good Protest” written by Glenda Gilmore really helped me expand my knowledge on ethnic studies. This is because it went into details about how the Civil rights movement had its “Classical movement” which was very influential for many individuals. During this time, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks were praised and seen as role models because they protested for equality. Not only this but it also went into detail into the fact that although everyone came together to protest, they were never able to solve the problem of inequality, specifically racial inequality… this has occurred for 60+ years with one of the more recent events being the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Though my knowledge has expanded, in recent events there have been many, many more protests, specifically the protests against Ice. As a daughter of individuals who immigrated here to create a better life for me and my brother, I hate to see how kids are being ripped away from their parents. Not only this but it hurts my community and all of the other communities around the United States.. How these ice agents are using violence and targeting a specific race to deport them back to their country and see them as criminals without checking any background, just simply targeting them. Throughout the year of 2025, there have been many protests with thousands of people, which truly shows how even 60 years later, everyone still comes together to solve these types of issues.