Awards
The Library Journal recognized Borderlands as one of 38 Best Books of 1987.[35]
Censorship
In 2010, Borderlands/La Frontera was one of the books banned by the Tucson Unified School System in Arizona when enforcing House Bill 2281, which prohibited the teaching of ethnic studies in the public school system.[10] HB 2281's purpose was to prohibit school districts or other educational institutions from including any courses that were considered to “promote resentment towards a race or class of people”[36] and many other provisions that targeted the ethnic studies programs that were already in existence.[10]
Influence
Professor at the University of California Los Angeles Cati V. de Los Ríos analyzes the impact of Borderlands/La Frontera’s ban in the classroom and its implication for student identity. Ríos engaged in a case study of 35 eleventh- and twelfth-grade students in California and their experiences in a Chicano/Latino studies program utilizing a Borderlands-influenced curriculum that centered the experiences of racial minorities.[10] She found that Borderlands and its incorporation into the course helped students confront their various social identities and navigate their educational endeavors.[10]
