http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/28-0
by Roberto Rodriguez
September 28, 2010
The lines have been drawn. Or rather, the date has been set and the
countdown has begun. If Arizona State Schools Superintendent Tom
Horne has his way, after Dec 31, 2010, Tucson Unified School
District's highly successful Mexican American Studies K-12 department
will cease to exist.
Despite Gov. Jan Brewer having signed HB 2281, the anti-Ethnic
Studies measure in May of this year supporters have good reason
to feel confident that on Jan 1, Raza Studies will be alive and well.
The measure bans schools from teaching hate, anti-Americanism and the
violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Horne, 2281's "intellectual
author," claims that Raza Studies advocates these things, and
promotes "ethnic solidarity" and results in racial segregation in schools.
The Draconian measure and Orwellian effort does not call for the
outright elimination of Raza/Ethnic Studies. Instead, it calls for
the withdrawing of 10% of district funds every month that a program
is found to be out of compliance. For TUSD, that would amount to $3
million per month, a sum it can ill-afford to lose.
The day after 2281 was signed and after Horne threatened to show up
to TUSD headquarters to do a victory lap hundreds upon hundreds of
K-16 students and community activists laid siege to both TUSD
headquarters and then later the state building, resulting in 15
arrests. During this siege, TUSD's Board of Governors issued a May 14
statement from the acting superintendent. In its entirety, it reads:
"TUSD proudly supports our Ethnic Studies classes. We have no plans
to eliminate or reduce course offerings. We believe these courses are
relevant, engaging, meet state standards and are in full compliance
with the law. Additionally, they are part our unitary status plan. We
stand firmly behind our Ethnic Studies Department, staff members and students."
The statements are a clear indication that if the program is ruled
out of compliance, it will be the anti-thesis of local control and
the epitome of foreign [state] intervention. His goal as he has
repeatedly stated is to rule Raza Studies out of compliance and to
eliminate it by the end of the year.
As a result, a historic lawsuit against Tom Horne is forthcoming. The
consensus amongst Tucson's Mexican American community is that come
Jan. 3, Raza Studies will be fully operational continuing to
educate and inspire minds and continuing its successful mission of
preparing its students to attend colleges and universities
nationwide. This program is virtually an anti-dropout program (more
than a 90% graduation rate) and more than that, it is now virtually a
college student factory (upwards of 70%). But Horne doesn't care
about that. Instead, his primary concern is ensuring that only
Greco-Roman knowledge the purported basis for Western Civilization
is taught in Arizona schools.
Raza Studies grounds students in Critical Thinking, and
in Indigenous Pedagogies on maiz-based or Maya-Nahua knowledge(s)
that is thousands-of-years old and that originates on this very
continent. Despite this, Horne and his legislative allies claim that
Raza Studies is un-American. In court, Horne will have his hands full
in defining these terms. Can things that originate in Greece and Rome
be considered American, while knowledge that originates on the
American continent be considered un-American and not part of Western
Civilization.
The measure makes a clumsy attempt to isolate Raza Studies; it allows
for the teaching of the Holocaust and purportedly exempts both
American Indian Studies classes [required by federal law] and African
American Studies classes [that are open to everyone). These are false
exemptions because all Ethnic Studies classes are open to everyone
and there are no American Indian Ethnic Studies classes required by
federal law. Despite this, the measure appears to be a clear
discriminatory effort to eliminate Raza Studies.
In the realm of definitions will maiz-based knowledge also be ruled
as not Indigenous or "American Indian"?
The forthcoming lawsuit will be historic in nature. Think Monkey
Scopes Trial or Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. What happens here
in Arizona will set a legal precedent of not simply what can be
taught in public schools but also whether states have the right to
restrict, censor, dictate, intimidate and overrule what districts
and educators can teach in local schools.
HB 2281 is the epitome of [cultural] mind control or forced
assimilation. Ultimately, the struggle as depicted in the in the
forthcoming Precious Knowledge documentary (http://vimeo.com/15062646
) -- is about the inherent right also enshrined in treaties and
international laws of children to learn about their own histories
and cultures. At TUSD, it is about the right of all children to learn
about these histories and cultures and thus the forthcoming lawsuit
(Saveethnicstudies.org).
--
Notes:
A national mobilization in support of TUSD's Raza Studies is
currently underway and the primary focus of National Ethnic Studies
Week. For more information, go to: http://ethnicstudiesweekoctober1-7.org/
A National conference on hate, censorship & Forbidden Curriculums
will take place at The University of Arizona Dec 2-4. For info:
http://drcintli.blogspot.com/ or: rodrigu7@email.arizona.edu or
--
Roberto Rodriguez, a professor at the University of Arizona and a
member of the Mexican American Studies Community Advisory Board, can
be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com
.
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