Bringing Back History: An Untold Story of the ‘Mexican Repatriation

Students at Bell Gardens Elementary School learned about the Great Depression in their history class and soon found out that the history book does not mention Mexican Americans. It did not mention the people who look like them. Curious about the topic, the students began to research. They created plays and book reports to present to students and teachers at school. One day, they enter the contest ‘There Ought to Be a Law’ hosted by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, who soon helps the students change the law in California encouraging teachers in public schools to teach about the Mexican Repatriation during the Great Depression.