Lesson Plan - Highlighting History

Jaime Escalante is one of the most famous teachers in the world. He was born in the South American country of Bolivia and moved to the U.S. in the 1960s. In 1974, he began teaching math at a high school in East Los Angeles, California. Many students there had long struggled in the classroom. But Escalante’s creative methods helped his students become math whizzes. He even inspired filmmakers. In 1988, a movie called Stand and Deliver was made about Escalante’s work and his students’ success. 

Pictured: Jaime Escalante with some of his students in 1988

Xiuhtezcatl (shoo-TEZ-kot) Martinez is a 22-year-old environmental activist and hip-hop artist from Colorado. His ancestors are Mexica (meh-SHEE-kah), Indigenous peoples from Mexico. Martinez travels the world giving speeches about the importance of caring for the environment. He’s also one of several young people involved in a lawsuit against the U.S. government. They claim that the nation’s leaders haven’t done enough to protect the planet. 

In 1944, 8-year-old Sylvia Mendez was excited to start attending her local school in Westminster, California. But school officials wouldn’t let her attend because she was Mexican American. Mendez’s parents were outraged. They joined other Mexican American families to sue four California school districts with similar policies. In 1946, they won their case. That led the governor of California to outlaw segregation in all public schools across the state. In the decades that followed, Mendez continued to speak out for equal rights.

Pictured: Sylvia Mendez speaking in California in 2011

In the early 1900s, factory workers in the U.S. often faced dangerous conditions and earned low pay. Luisa Moreno knew this firsthand. She was born in the Central American country of Guatemala in 1907. She later worked at a garment factory in New York City stitching clothes. She encouraged workers there and across the country to join unions. A union is an organization of workers that protects its members’ rights. Moreno wrote pamphlets in both English and Spanish and led strikes. That’s when people refuse to work until their demands are met. Over time, Moreno’s efforts helped improve working conditions in factories and other places. 

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg was an Afro-Latino writer and historian from Puerto Rico. He moved to New York City in 1891 when he was 17. He later spent his life collecting important pieces of Black literature, art, and history. He wanted to share Black culture with the world. Today, his collection is in a research facility named after him in New York City. It’s called the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The center now has more than 11 million items.