How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its Rise

*This is a needed read. You know how I like stories about the energy of transformation – that’s what this is. It’s the prevailing energy of the Latino community, a cornerstone energy of the U.S. So this is an essential American story. Props to Librotraficante Tony Diaz for all he does. VL

By J. Weston Phippen, The Atlantic

The irony is that if Arizona lawmakers had never squashed one Mexican American studies class—in a single district in one city—Curtis Acosta would have no interest in duplicating that same class across the country. Certainly, California and Texas public schools would not be considering to offer the course in all its high schools. And Tony Diaz would never have become the book smuggler.

[pullquote][tweet_dis]When education is under attack, what do we do? Fight back.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]

In fact, today [tweet_dis]Mexican American studies has spread to high schools at a rate that no one could have imagined before Arizona banned the class in 2010.[/tweet_dis]

“It sped up the evolution by about 25 years,” says Diaz, the self-dubbed “librotraficante,” or book smuggler. “It’s clear to me that our intellectual advancement is a threat to some people, because they tried to make it illegal.”

Click HERE to read the full story.