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This is My Revolution
By Students of Roosevelt High School
9th Grade Ethnic Studies Class, 2014-2015
In the Ethnic Studies course called Boyle Heights and Me created by three teachers working for equity and excellence in education, Roxana Dueñas, Jorge Lopez, and Eduardo Lopez, 9th graders at Roosevelt High School engaged in a year of conversation critiquing and challenging what is often accepted as the norm, or “just the way things are.”
By identifying community assets and analyzing root causes of oppression, students reimagined their realities through writing about themselves and life in Boyle Heights. This collection of honest and inspirational stories depicts the power of transformation and healing that comes from knowledge of self. Every author expresses urgency and agency for change to reimagine the future.
Cover by: Nico Avina
Designed by: Diana Molleda
[/ezcol_1half_end] “I want to live in a community where people aren’t afraid to walk at night. I want to live in a Boyle Heights where culture is alive. I want to live in a Boyle Heights where dropping out isn’t common anymore. I want to live in a community where crime rates are low. I want to live in a community where Latino college rates are high and where better jobs are available. I want to live in a Boyle Heights where poverty is no more, where the community is united and fighting back against the oppression.”
— From “I Want to Live” By Brian V., This is My Revolution
“When we first embarked on our journey toward critical consciousness and healing through our “Boyle Heights and Me” course, we could not have imagined the amount of growth and resilience we as teachers would be witness to, both within you and ourselves.”
— From the introduction by Roxana Dueñas, Jorge Lopez, and Eduardo Lopez
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This is My Revolution
for the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
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Click here to read all of Resistance, Resilience and Re-Imagination in the Ethnic Studies Classroom: A Reflection on Roosevelt High School’s Critical Ethnic Studies Course.
“With the support of volunteers from 826LA, students turned their free writes into descriptive, reflective and powerful letters, poems or narratives. Through weekly period-long one-on-one sessions in our class, volunteers provided feedback, edits and ideas for the students to consider. Once they felt satisfied with their drafts, students submitted these for final, professional edits and publication. The final creative writing pieces and end-of-semester reflections for our book project, titled This is My Revolution allowed us to see the essence of critical hope, healing and resilience we attempted to nurture through humanizing pedagogy, restorative justice and a critical analysis of history.”
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Learn more about This is My Revolution:
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An interview with the teachers of Roosevelt High School
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Featured Student Writing:
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“I will say, ‘I am an activist. I am the cause of change. I am a fighter. I am a feminist. I am a leader. This is my revolution.’ Tell me about it soon.”
Nancy’s “Tell Me About My Revolution”
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“Community stewardship starts with gathering the community and addressing the issue. Talking about what is to come if we don’t do something.”
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“Waiting till he get on his knees and
crawls one day
Hoping for the day I hear his words
‘Daddy come on, let’s play.'”
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Click on the individual title to read more.
To purchase the book, click here, or pick up a copy in store at the Time Travel Mart.