Arizona Gets Schooled: Update on Ban of Mexican American Studies
*A huge victory for Mexican-American studies in general, and for the opponents of Arizona’s ban in specific.Tony Diaz gives us a very complete and detailed account of the issue and the federal court proceedings. Our thanks to Tony for leading on this charge. VL
By Tony Diaz/El Librotraficante, Huffington Post Latino Voices
Discrimination is the only explanation for Arizona’s banning of Mexican American Studies, threatening intellectual freedom for the entire nation.
A federal appeals court suggested as much in their opinion on July 7, 2015.
[pullquote]”… the federal judges schooled Arizona with their probing and questioning.[/pullquote]This is the ruling regarding the court case against Arizona’s law used to ban Mexican American Studies. The court heard “Maya Arce vs Huppenthal”, now called “Maya Arce vs Douglas,” in January.
The law prohibits courses that promote the overthrow of the government. However, as the judges pointed out, it was enforced on only the K-12 Mexican American Studies (MAS) program at Tucson Unified School District (TUSD).
This was a monumental ruling because the court recognized the discrimination apparent in the state’s banning and gave the plaintiffs the chance to document it.
It appears that the federal government is ready to put in check Arizona’s rebellion.
The Librotraficantes were honored to be in the court room to witness history and hear first hand the oral arguments. Arizona’s testimony bordered on parody, but the federal judges schooled Arizona with their probing and questioning. Below are some highlights from the proceedings.
Arizona as Opposite Land:
[pullquote]Arizona argued that “student achievement is irrelevant.”[/pullquote]Arizona began its oral arguments by trying to deport America to Opposite Land.
The Cabrera Report and the Cambium Audit are 2 major studies that prove Mexican American courses helps students pass standardized Math and English tests and graduate. Arizona fought to keep the findings from being used as evidence in court.
Arizona’s justification for ignoring the data was mind-blowing. Arizona argued that “student achievement is irrelevant.”
Evidently, generations of teachers have the concept all wrong. Here we thought just the opposite.
The sense this makes is nonsense. And the judges thought so, too.
One judge said that ignoring the findings, “. . . would seem to demonstrate evidence of discriminatory intent.”
You really do have to see it to believe it, and to do so-click here for a link to a video of the oral arguments. And here are more highlights:
The worst job on earth must be serving as lawyer for Arizona. The state’s lawyer was flustered and stuttering when she was pressed to provide an example of a course that could satisfy the different components of the law. She could not.
It looked just like the Daily Show interview where Al Madrigal asked Michael Hicks, TUSD School Board Member, opponent of MAS, to explain how to teach African Americans students about slavery without creating resentment. He too fumbled with words and couldn’t provide an example.
And there’s more.
The judges asked AZ counsel, “Suppose you had a class in Chinese Language, one that helps Chinese students, would that be illegal in AZ?”
The lawyer for AZ answered-“Yes.”
Even on his last day of office, outgoing Education Chief Huppenthal notified TUSD that an African American Studies course was breaking the law by teaching KRS-One Lyrics.
Evidently for Arizona far right Republicans being multicultural means banning Asian and African Americans Studies in addition to Mexican American Studies.
As the presidential election gears up, and as the lawyers get ready to continue the case, the nation will get to see more of the evidence that answers some of the questions posed by the judges, such as, “How does that not suggest discriminatory animus? We don’t want minorities to develop any kind of ethnic pride?”
Legal overview
For a legal view of the ruling, I had a chance to interview Richard Martinez, during my final broadcast for Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say on 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston, Texas.
Martinez is the legal eagle who has championed the cause of the MAS students and professors from day one. He has assembled the current team that consists of a deep bench of law students, law professors, and lawyers with Supreme Court experience.
He emailed me the following insights about the decision:
“The 9th Circuit’s decision in “Arce” is a significant, important vindication of the claims asserted by the plaintiffs.”
The conventional wisdom was that the case was over, that the task of reversing Judge Tashima was not likely to occur. Due to the incredible work done by the entire legal team, including Professor Bob Chang and the brilliant oral argument by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky on January 12, 2015, the 9th Circuit ruled in the plaintiffs favor in four significant ways.”
This includes affirming that the A(3) provision in HB 2281 was unconstitutional, and …
This aricle was originally published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.
Originally from the South Side of Chicago, Tony Diaz “El Librotraficante” is a novelist, activist, and professor. He began his graduate studies at Kansas State University then moved to Houston, Texas where in 1998 he founded Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say to promote Latino literature and literacy. That same year his first novel THE AZTEC LOVE GOD was published. In response to Arizona prohibition of Mexican American Studies through Arizona House Bill 2281, Nuestra Palabra organized the 2012 Librotraficante Caravan to Smuggle the Wetbooks back into Arizona.
[Photo by Liana Lopez-Librotraficante Lilo]