In 1968, students at San Francisco State College, led by the Third World Liberation Front, began a strike that lasted about five months. It led to the founding of the College of Ethnic Studies there in 1969, the first in the country. Ethnic studies programs spread to universities nationwide and later to high schools.
The field has drawn political fights. In 2010, Arizona passed a law used to shut down Tucson's Mexican American Studies program. In 2017, a federal judge ruled that the ban was motivated by racial animus and violated students' rights. In 2021, California passed AB 101, making it the first state to require an ethnic studies course for high school graduation. But the requirement depends on state funding that had not been provided as of 2025.
Research suggests real benefits. A 2017 Stanford study of a San Francisco ninth-grade ethnic studies course found that it raised attendance and grades among students at risk of failing. Ethnic studies matters because it lets students learn histories that standard curricula leave out.