Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted with permission from Borderlands and the Mexican American Story, out August 20 from Crown Books for Young Readers. The excerpt consists of the book’s introduction followed by part of one of the chapters.
Mexican Americans have sometimes been called “the forgotten people.” They are the people who have disappeared through the cracks. The in-between people. They don’t fit in one category or stay in one place. They cross borders. Although they originally didn’t cross the border—rather, the border crossed them. Their ancestors had been living in what is now the American Southwest long before it became part of the United States. We’ll learn more about that later on.
Much of Mexican American history has been ignored or erased. In recent years, white politicians and school board officials in some Southwestern states like Arizona and Texas have prohibited students from learning the full truth about Mexican Americans. They are afraid that if students find out about this history, they might ask difficult questions. These politicians and officials say learning the truth about the past might cause division and “bad feelings.” The Mexican American students who learn about injustice in the past might get angry. They might want to change how things have always been done.
