Amid anti-immigrant and racial clashes, ethnic studies programs blossom in public schools

As public debates swirl around "Dreamers," President Donald Trump's border wall and Black Lives Matter, the study of race and ethnicity is booming in public schools.

Nationwide, states and school systems are refining, expanding or adopting courses that explore history, literature and politics through the eyes of people who aren't white. The programs, which until recently were banned in Arizona and derided as anti-American, are thriving in unexpected places. Some districts are making ethnic studies compulsory - for whites as well as minorities.

"In our current political context, especially with the president, there has been a huge gain in the critical study of race and ethnicity, and the desire for students to see themselves reflected in what they are learning," said Julia Jordan-Zachery, a professor at Providence College in Rhode Island and president of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. "The interest predates Trump, but it's only growing