We Need to Defend Ethnic Studies

San Francisco Unified School District has capitulated to right-wing, Trumpian forces fighting against our landmark ethnic studies program. Despite this, MAGA groups like Parents Defending Education won’t rest until ethnic studies has been removed from every classroom for good. The Chronicle should not be elevating these Trumpian groups and presenting them as a credible source. They are extremely biased and only spread misinformation about ethnic studies, a program which has demonstrated benefits for all students. 

San Francisco was the birthplace of ethnic studies, and it is a travesty to abandon our historic ethnic studies program in favor of a generic version used all over the country. It is good that we haven’t abandoned ethnic studies entirely, but we have to fight to keep it that way. Trump supporters will not rest until they have removed all mentions of ethnic studies or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from our schools. This erases the histories and experiences of marginalized students, and robs students of the opportunity to relate to and learn from their own and other experiences. Ethnic studies has consistently helped students attend school, graduate, and attend college.

NPE

Behind the attacks on ethnic studies at SFUSD

By Tim Redmond | August 14th, 2025 | 48hills