Stolen Education 2014
Distributed by The Video Project, PO Box 411376, San Francisco, CA 94141-1376; 800-475-2638
Produced by Enrique Alemán, Jr., and Rudy Luna
Directed by Enrique Alemán, Jr., and Rudy Luna
DVD, color, 67 min.
Jr. High - General Adult
Desegregation, Discrimination, Early Childhood Education, Education, Hispanic Americans, Justice, Law, Sociology
Date Entered: 11/26/2014
Reviewed by Margaret M. Reed, Riley-Hickingbotham Library, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, ARIn 1956, eight young Mexican-American students and their parents made an indelible mark on public education in Texas. Stolen Education tells their inspiring story.
Filmmaker and professor Enrique Alemán, Jr., the son of one of the eight students, takes viewers on an emotional journey to the small farming town of Driscoll, Texas. Nearly 60 years before, Alemán’s mother Lupe and the other students testified in Hernandez et. al. v. Driscoll Consolidated Independent School District. It challenged the discriminatory practice of requiring Mexican-American students to remain in the first grade for three years, regardless of their intellectual or English-language ability. The children’s testimonies were key to the families’ winning the case.
Even though their victory paved the way for other successful discrimination lawsuits, the students paid a considerable personal toll for being held back solely on the basis of race. Alemán’s interviews with surviving students reveal a mix of accomplishment and unrealized potential. Relatives of former teachers, administrators, and school board members also give their perspectives on Driscoll’s de facto segregation tactics of the past.
In the broader context, Stolen Education is a powerful reminder that discrimination under the guise of “doing what’s best for them” reaps discouragement and hardship.
Highly recommended for all libraries, Stolen Education is an outstanding resource and professional development tool for teacher education programs and educators at every level.
Screened at universities and other venues throughout the country, Stolen Education was an official selection at the CineSol Film Festival and the Ruby Mountain Film Festival.