Freedom of Speech: Except in Hempstead Texas
By Valeka Cruz, Being Latino
Growing up, I used to sit with my Nana at her kitchen table and she would tell me stories about what my hometown was like when she was raising my father and aunt. They weren’t allowed to speak Spanish in their schools. The powers-that-be felt that it was best for all students and faculty to only speak English during classtime or school related activities. That was in 1950s small town Texas. And from what happened in Hempstead, Texas a few weeks ago, some things haven’t changed.
On November 12th, Hempstead Middle School Principal Amy Lacey announced over the school’s PA system that the 330 students on campus (approximately half of which are Latino) are not to speak Spanish while in class because it was deemed to be “disruptive.” The principal has since been placed on paid administrative.
That announcement has divided the school and the community. Latino students are afraid to speak Spanish (even in the school hallways) for fear of being reprimanded. Other students feel that the announcement by the school principal gives teachers permission to be discriminatory towards Spanish-speaking students. One student stated that she was told by a teacher that if she spoke Spanish in class, she was going to be written up.
Some argue that it makes sense for students to only speak English – but in a community with a large Latino population — there are plenty who believe the policy is discriminatory.
At Hempstead ISD’s board meeting where Lacey was not in attendance, the debate over language continued. “I support the principal,” said parent Jamie Cavender. “I really believe she did the right thing. My children don’t know if they’re being talked about or being made fun of.”
But students like Kiara Lozano feel differently. The sixth-grader stood in front of the board and read a letter written by a classmate. “When she realized we were speaking Spanish she began to yell at us,” Lozano read from the letter. “I believe it was wrong and clearly unprofessional.”
While it seems that this is an isolated incident in this small town with a population of roughly 6,000 people, the ACLU of Texas is monitoring the situation.
“The principal’s ban not only violates the constitutional and federal laws, but it’s also bad policy,” ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Adriana Piñon. “It essentially gags Spanish speaking students and precludes them from conveying information in Spanish.”
“A choice of language is a fundamental right, and the ban also raises school protection concerns. This ban was only prohibiting Spanish from being spoken, not all non-English languages were precluded.” Piñon is more concerned that such mandate would exist even with all of the research that shows the educational and economic benefits to a bilingual education.
“It also stigmatizes Spanish speaking students,” Piñon said. “The purported reason that a principal banned Spanish was to prevent disruption, and this problematically equates back to speaking Spanish to misbehaving. This sends a message that speaking Spanish is somehow bad, and that Spanish-speaking students are somehow bad. That’s deeply disconcerting.”
“It’s not new, and it’s not unique to Texas, but it is unconstitutional,” Piñon said. “I think one important point is there is no national language in the U.S. for a reason. We’re a diverse population that speaks many languages and have always spoken many languages. Americans do have a tradition of tolerance that is important to respect and to protect.”
Amy Lacey’s fate as principal still remains to be seen. And if past history has taught us anything, our Spanish language isn’t going to vanish because a few people consider it to be “disruptive.” The fate of our language is our own.
This article was originally published in Being Latino.
Valeka Cruz is a freelance writer and blogger living happily in Austin Texas. Her blog, Running On Heavy (http://runningonheavy.blogspot.com/), provides health and wellness motivation along with life lessons. She also blogs about living a creative life at her blog, The Ups and the Dumps (http://theupsandthedumps.blogspot.com/). Valeka has just completed the writing of her first novel and is ready to begin her next one. She loves painting, hiking with her three dogs, cafe Americanos and writing (not necessarily in that order depending on what kind of a day she is having).
[Photo/screenshot courtesy of KHOU]
