Book Review: Conchas,G. Q.,& Acevedo,N.,The Chicana/o/x Dream: Hope,resistance,and educational success

Higher education has seen an increase of Latinx students attending degree-granting institutions since 2000. The Condition of Education (Hussar et al., 2020) by the National Center for Education Statistic (NCES) reports that the number of Latinx students had increased from 1.4 million in 2000 to 3.4 million by 2018 in U.S. higher education institutions. Over two-thirds of the Latinx millennial or younger population in the United States are of Mexican descent. The Chicana/o/x Dream describes the diverse yet similar experiences within a colonized higher education system across Chicana/o/x students’ diverse identity and experiences with immigration, gender, sexuality, disability, parenting, or justice impact status. Informed by Gloria Anzaldúa's feminist theories, the authors highlight how colonized higher education makes Chicana/o/x students outsiders. Despite the barriers, the students continue to hope and traverse the landscape as atravesado (transgressor). Through different Chicana/o/x student testimonio, The Chicana/o/x Dream presents a picture of the heart and soul of the Chicana/o/x students, their persistent pursuit of higher education, and their success. Chapter 1 provides a foundational framework to understand the experience of Chicana/o/x students through the historical and political context of higher education. Chapter 2 explores how Chicana/o/x students perceive the multiple systems of oppression within education thereby enabling their ability to see beneath the oppression. Chapters 3 through 6 uses Chicana/o/x students’ testimonios to demonstrate the ability to see the oppression, which strengthens them to resist, and maneuver through higher education to build success for themselves and others coming along. Finally, Chapter 7 provides a call to action for practitioners to develop critical consciousness to support and foster Chicana/o/x dreams.

In Chapter 1, the authors presented an overview of the systemic marginalization of the Chicana/o/x student experience in education. The authors defined “education borderlands as the nexus of deficit and marginalizing practices, policies, and ideologies present in the education system that Chicana/o/x students confront” (p. 23). These practices make Chicana/o/x students feel undeserving of quality education or feel that they do not belong in education. The Chicana/o/x students experience systemic inequality in not just race or immigration status, but also socioeconomic status, gender, and language among others. These different areas intersect and multiply the challenges faced by Chicana/o/x students. To pursue their dream, Chicana/o/x students become atravesado (transgressors) and must maneuver through the education borderland where they often experience marginalization and conflicts.

Chapter 2 explored the Chicana/o/x students’ la facultad, or the ability to see beneath the surface and make sense of a deeper, hidden reality. This very same ability that rose out of their borderland experience is what can help students to remain hopeful and sustain them through their education despite the experience of marginalization. Notably, the authors highlighted some of the differences between male and female students’ perception and sense-making of the inequalities. Irrelevant of the differences, the insight into the existence of the inequality allowed them to not only traverse the education borderland for themselves but also with the intent to help others through this process.

In Chapter 3, Conchas and Acevedo presented the experience of Javier and Giselle who were community college students, parents with young children, and justices impacted. Javier was formerly incarcerated, and Giselle's father was in prison for most of her life. The intersectionality of these experiences and identity demonstrates multiple levels of challenge. However, although higher education practitioners often take a deficit perspective of students with young children or being justice impacted, Javier and Giselle story reveal these were motivating factors to complete their education. Instead of being a barrier to their education, their children were the motivation that kept them focused on enacting their Chicana/o/x dream.

Chapter 4 described the educational experience of Francisco and Yesenia, both of whom were Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors dealing with invisible disabilities. Francisco was diagnosed with autism as an adult and Yesenia lives with an autoimmune disease that left her often tired. Both went through most of their primary and secondary education without being diagnosed. Although a disability is often seen as a barrier, both Francisco and Yesenia embraced their disability and were able to gain a clearer direction of their educational goal because of their disability. The strength gained from the clarity of their disability supported the two students to balance the demands of STEM coursework and cultural conflicts that made STEM careers a reality for Francisco and Yesenia.

Chapters 5 and 6 used a gendered lens to explored the higher education experience of three Chicano (male) and Chicana (female) students. The students experienced challenges as a result of intersections of various identities such as socioeconomic and immigration status, ethnicity, disability, gang life, sexuality, patriarchy, and machismo cultural identity. The three Chicano students in Chapter 5 recognized the privileges and the challenges of being male in their culture. The three female students in Chapter 6, despite having experienced inequality due to a patriarchal culture, possessed insight beneath the patriarchy and were able to recognize the strength of the family unit and the value of women in their culture to continue their pursuit of educational goals. The Chicana/o/x students drew insight and strength from a deeper understanding of the inequalities caused by colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism and actively worked to build bridges to create a safe environment for Latina/o/x youths, DACA students, and other voiceless students who may be facing similar challenges.

In Chapter 7, Conchas and Acevedo issue a call to action. The authors encourage all educators and education leaders, regardless of background, to step into consciousness by dismantling stereotypes, engage in reflexive creative acts, avoid replicating marginalizing structures, and (re-)envisioning a socially just reality. Furthermore, the authors suggest ways to develop a sense of belonging for the Chicana/o/x students at the institutions. In each of the student stories, despite feeling marginalized by the education system, the Chicana/o/x students often mentioned one faculty member, advisor, college program, or even non-profit program that played a significant role in getting them into college or staying in college. The authors provide descriptions of seven areas to help build a campus that supports the Chicana/o/x dream that can be applied by college counselors, instructors, staff, administrators, and even in hiring practices of the institution.

As higher education professionals across the United States examine ways to reduce completion gaps for Latinx students, the Chicana/o/x Dream makes the Chicana/o/x student into real people, dealing with real-life challenges, rather than a statistic. The testimonios give higher education professionals an understanding that the challenges experienced by Chicana/o/x students are much more than just a lack of college cultural knowledge or being unprepared for college. Again and again, Conchas and Acevedo demonstrate that despite the marginalization, Chicana/o/x students draw strength from the very factors that higher education professionals would cite as barriers. The Chicana/o/x students resist the inequalities of society and higher education and move towards their dream, including post-secondary degrees. In this process, the Chicana/o/x students value the importance of building bridges across the barriers they transverse for others coming along. The authors issue a final reminder to readers: “Existence is a form of resistance for atravesadas” (p. 150). The Chicana/o/x Dream is a colorful demonstration of the Chicana/o/x student resistance.