Through Black and Brown Eyes, as Well as Blue

American History from Students' Perspectives

Abstract

There is a scene at the beginning of the movie "Old Gringo" that shows several men on horseback looking down the side of a barren hilltop toward a train that has momentarily stopped to pick up passengers. These passengers are mostly families with little baggage. They wear heavy clothing even though the temperature is very hot. Their heads are dripping wet from having dunked them into the nearby water hole. They are tired, hungry, and sad to leave their homes but nonetheless they are hopeful and determined that what lies ahead for them will be better.

As I watched this scene, I thought to myself. 'This is what my aunt was describing! Tia Lupe's story is exactly this scene!"

Maria's opening paragraphs in her second paper were validation to me of the worth of my family history assignments, for she had found a connection between events in her own family's background and those in a larger view of U.S. history. Southern California community college students are not necessarily typical of freshmen college students at other colleges and universities. My classes generally include students of all ages, and most. like Maria, are first-generation college students. A majority are "minority" students: more than half are Hispanic; perhaps a third are Asian; and approximately one-third are recent immigrants to this country. There is a sea of black and brown eyes in front of me, with only a scattering of blue.