Examines the social and educational experiences of Mexicans and Hispanos in Colorado from 1920 to 1960.

Until now, much of what has been written about Mexican American educational history has focused on California and Texas, while Colorado’s story has remained largely untold. Rubén Donato recounts the social and educational history of Mexicans and Hispanos (descendents of Spanish troops who came to the region in the late 1500s) in Colorado from 1920 to 1960. He examines both groups’ experiences in sugar beet towns, the experiences of Hispanos in Anglo American–controlled towns, and the Hispano experience in a historically Hispano-controlled town. Donato argues that whoever possessed power at the local level determined who ran the schools, who administered them, who taught in them, who succeeded in them, and what sorts of social and academic environments were created.

“Donato superbly documents the treatment of Mexican and Hispano communities in Colorado in the twentieth century in distressingly immoral interlace. It is analogous to the Black experience in America. All Coloradoans must read this piercing historical account. Anyone who isn’t clear about how a transformative education makes a difference needs to critically engage this book. It is truly a must read for all educators.” — Hermán S. García, New Mexico State University

Rubén Donato is Professor of Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the author of The Other Struggle for Equal Schools: Mexican Americans During the Civil Rights Era, also published by SUNY Press.