Film screening dissects past Mexican-American racial inequity in Texas public school system
By Tori West
A documentary detailing a filmmaker’s personal journey to rediscover the plight of Mexican-American children’s menial schooling will be shown on Wednesday night.
“Stolen Education” was written and produced by Dr. Enrique Alemán, an associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Utah and the son of one of the children who proceeded to change the Texas public school system after receiving what he says was a poor education.
The film tells the story of institutionalized school systems in South Texas in the late 1950s pertaining to Mexican-American students and discusses the present inequality within public schools today.
Alemán has been traveling since the film’s debut in 2013; showcasing its message through screenings and discussing it with college students at universities nationwide.
This marks the first time he will screen thefilm in California.
Assistant Professor Ignacio Hernandez of the department of educational research and administration and Associate Professor Alex Espinoza of the department of English helped bring Alemán’s film to campus.
Hernandez reached out to Alemán about doing a screening at Fresno State because he felt not only the campus community, but the surrounding community, would benefit from the film.
“It pertains to a lot of the students on this campus that may have faced the same struggles the children in the film overcame in the educational system,” Hernandez said.
“It benefits the whole campus community, faculty staff and administrators,” Hernandez said. “The film deals with issues related to educational equity and diversity as laid out in the mission of Fresno State.”
Alemán will be at the event to introduce the film and to do a Q-and-A session after the event.
The screening is open to the public and will be held at 6 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium.
