Emerging from the modern U.S. civil rights era, scholars have promoted ethnic and multicultural studies as strategies for improving the educational performance of students who have traditionally been marginalized in classrooms nationwide. Among the most marginalized are students who have experienced historic discrimination because of their racial, ethnic, linguistic, and immigrant status. The student population of United States comprises diverse groups. Marginalization and school failure are highest among African American, Latine, Indigenous, and some Asian students. In this essay, I speak to the necessity of more than curricular changes and explore the more than thirty years of research that addresses the demand to employ pedagogical philosophies and strategies that meet the needs of marginalized students. I conclude by describing the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning in underserved communities.