RCOE worked in collaboration with CSUSB and UCLA’s History and Geography project to bring Eastside Stories to the Inland Empire. Eastside stories sought to connect Inland Empire History teachers with scholars of local history who had a robust understanding of the complex history in Riverside County. Our scholars told the unique stories of Inland Empire communities from a wide variety of perspectives. Each two-hour program followed a format that involved a quick introduction and processing activity to prime the pump on our adult learners. Next, a scholar provided a deep standards-based learning around the local history that put a local flavor and flair, while simultaneously demonstrating how international and national issues played out in our local community. This local history highlighted front and center all the people that make up the Inland Empire, especially groups whose stories of struggle and success had been traditionally pushed to the margins. At the conclusion of the scholar’s talk, teachers were able to self-select into breakout rooms designed to help the teachers bring the new learning into their classroom, no matter their grade level, as we provide rooms for elementary, middle, and high school. Each of the scholar’s sessions were recorded and are now currently available for free to all educators. Additionally, the resources from the various breakouts are available for teachers to take and utilize in their classrooms. 

While Eastside Stories was a grant funded partnership and that grant has sunset, we have heard your call and are looking to bring back some version of the program in 2022.

Please check out the various sessions: 

• Indigenous Inland Empire: An In Depth Exploration of Sherman Indian School as a Site of Struggle and of Reclamation 
• The Citrus Belt: An Examination of the Segregation in Both Citrus Work and Schools
• Chinese American History in the IE: An Examinations of Just One of the Many AAPI Groups to Settle Within Riverside County
• Mexican Americans, Sports and the Latinx Civil Rights

For more information, check out the full flyer.