Hana Morita, SoAn Major
Due to COVID restrictions, I decided to spend the Fall 2020 semester in my hometown of Palo Alto, California. Influenced by the past summer’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the arising discussions around examining systems of oppression rooted in history, I wanted to take the opportunity to engage with and analyze my local city’s history. I was specifically interested in understanding the representation (or lack-there-of) of people of color in Palo Alto history. The option to create an Independent Study course for the semester provided me a space to actively engage with my local history and community despite the isolating reality of stay-at-home regulations.
With the guidance of SoAn professor Gareth Barkin, and History professors Nancy Bristow, and Doug Sackman, I compiled a website which highlighted popular historical myths, underrepresented histories, and the necessary sociopolitical and historical context that is necessary to understand the experiences of people of color in Palo Alto. I also included a page of resources which included books, articles, websites and podcasts.
I did not intend this website to be a fully completed anthology on the history of people of color in Palo Alto. While my intentions of the project were to provide a more diverse historical narrative, there are still many topics, events, people and narratives that were not included. However, I aimed for this project and this website to be a starting point to prompt students, teachers, and community members to reflect on their understanding of Palo Alto history and be inspired to search for more. Recently, my website has found a home in the Palo Alto Unified School District library guide as a reference site for students and teachers to learn more about Palo Alto History and to use the sources and information I gathered for future research projects and lesson plans.
SOAN 