UNITED STATES: Latino studies book ban in Tucson sparks outcry

Submitted by crinadmin on

[3 February 2012] - On January 10 of this year, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) suspended its popular Mexican American Studies (MAS) programme...to maintain the district’s compliance with House Bill 2281, which was signed by Governor Jan Brewer in 2010. Arizona State Superintendent John Huppenthal stated the programme was in direct violation to ARS 15-112, a segment of HB 2281, which essentially bans programmes that:

  • Promote the overthrow of the United States government
  • Promote resentment toward a race or class of people
  • Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group
  • Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals

According to Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix News Times, the law gives the state superintendent the power to withhold 10 per cent of state funding for any school district that does not comply. (Lemons)

Along with the suspension of the MAS programme, several books have been removed from the classrooms, in one instance, while class was in session. According to Steiner, students of Tucson High Magnet School have told how books were collected from a filing cabinet while class was still in motion. The seven books that have been removed from classrooms are:

  • Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado
  • 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures edited by Elizabeth Martinez
  • Message to AZTLAN by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales
  • Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement by Arturo Rosales
  • Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Rodolfo Acuna
  • Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
  • Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years by Bill Bigelow

Tony Diaz, founder of Nuestra Palabra, an organisation that promotes Latino literature, was quoted, stating, “What really offended us down to our soul – they took the books out of the classes in front of the kids and boxed them up…”.  

Diaz is also the leader of the ‘Librotraficantes,’ a group who are looking to caravan from Houston, Texas to Tuscon, Arizona to smuggle the allegedly banned books back into the state. The participants of the caravan include authors whose books were removed and advocates of the First Amendment, who wish to preserve rights of equal protection and freedom of speech.

The Librotraficantes, which translates from Spanish to Book Traffickers, are planning the caravan for March 12-18, 2012. According to the group’s website, the goal of the caravan is to raise awareness about Latino studies being banned in Arizona, to promote the work of authors whose books have been removed, and to, “celebrate many cultures: children of the American dream must unite to preserve the civil rights of all Americans.”

Although the removal of the books and the MAS programme has sparked protest from members of the community, like the Librotraficantes, officials of the TUSD maintain they are merely complying with the law. In a press release, Cara Rene, the Communication Director of TUSD, stated, “Tucson Unified School District has not banned any books as has been widely and incorrectly reported.” Rene proceeded to list the seven books which were removed from classrooms (see list above),  and stated they were not banned, but moved to a storage facility because they were no longer needed as they were part of the curriculum for the, now suspended, MAS programme. Rene also stated that all of the books that have been removed are still available to students through several school libraries, and that students are welcome to reserve the books through the TUSD library system. 

 

Further Information:

pdf: http://transborder.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/alleged-book-ban-in-tucson-s...

Country: 
United States
Attachment Link: 
http://transborder.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/alleged-book-ban-in-tucson-sparks...
Link : 

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.