IMPORTANT ARIZONA DEVELOPMENTS
· DEC 2-4 SUMMIT ON HATE, CENSORSHIP & FORBIDDEN CURRICULA: CALL FOR SUPPORT
· COLUMBUS DAY TRIALS SUMMARY
ANNOUNCING RAZA STUDIES LAWSUIT
SUMMIT ON HATE, CENSORSHIP & FORBIDDEN CURRICULUMS
DEC 2-4 TUCSON, ARIZONA
CALL FOR SUPPORT
· DEC 2-4 SUMMIT ON HATE, CENSORSHIP & FORBIDDEN CURRICULA: CALL FOR SUPPORT
· COLUMBUS DAY TRIALS SUMMARY
ANNOUNCING RAZA STUDIES LAWSUIT
SUMMIT ON HATE, CENSORSHIP & FORBIDDEN CURRICULUMS
DEC 2-4 TUCSON, ARIZONA
CALL FOR SUPPORT
By Roberto Rodriguez
A historic conference and Floricanto in Tucson, Arizona at the beginning of December will tackle the issues of hate, censorship and forbidden curriculums. Yet, it may not be so much a conference as it will be a gathering or a summit to confront what L.A. hip-hop artist Tolteka has dubbed the Trilogy of Terror: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiG8p1MUXxA).
The three legs of this Arizona trilogy include:
SB 1070- the state’s racial profiling bill
HB 2281 – the anti-Ethnic/Raza Studies bill
Nullification of the 14th Amendment or Birthright Citizenship
We here in Arizona will never recognize them as [legitimate] laws.
At the moment, the courts have temporarily neutralized SB 1070 and it will be mired in litigation into the foreseeable future. However, by the time of the conference, the courts may have also already decided whether HB 2281 can be implemented or not. The sole purpose of this draconian law is to outright eliminate Tucson’s unique and highly successful K-12 Raza Studies program by Dec 31, 2010. Concurrently, conservative state legislators have vowed to introduce a bill that will nullify the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Arizona. It would prevent Arizona hospitals from issuing birth certificates to children born of parents who cannot prove their right to be in the United States. SB 1070 and HB 2281 were especially highlighted.
In Arizona, it is beyond a trilogy. We are also host to Operation Streamline, a Kangaroo Court of the first order which daily criminalizes some 70 migrants in a span of one hour, this while lining the pockets of the private Corrections Corporation of America to the tune of $13 million per month. The Arizona/Sonora desert is also the site of thousands of deaths along the border, not accidentally, but as an intentional strategy of the U.S. government to funnel migrants into the most inhospitable regions of the border.
The purpose of this conference is to show the world how a community under siege responds. Five UN Special Rapporteurs recently took special note of this siege, informing the world that the actions of the state legislature and the governor have created conditions that could violate the human dignity of the Mexican/Indigenous populations of the state.
While the timing of the conference coincides with the imminent dismantling of the Crown Jewel of 40 years of Ethnic Studies in the United States, the actual objective is to highlight the student-community-led resistance to these draconian measures. In regards to HB 2281, the conference’s objective is to highlight precisely what Ethnic/Raza Studies is by celebrating its thousands-of-years-old maiz-based pedagogies and epistemologies. These knowledges and ways of knowing that have been branded as “un American” by the state superintendent of schools. The conference is also an occasion to both honor and pay tribute to the Raza Studies students, alumni and educators who are part of this resistance/creation culture.
The resistance and organizing efforts of the past several years has been awe-inspiring. It has included a run between Tucson and Phoenix in 115-degree heat. It has also included protests, rallies, vigils and mass arrests. In regards to HB 2281, despite the wishes of the state superintendant of schools, it is highly doubtful that the Tucson/Arizona community will permit Ethnic/Raza Studies to go down.
Understanding that not all who wish to participate will be able to make the trip to this political desert, this here is a call to support this conference. Send whatever you can: $25, $50 or $100 in the name of The University of Arizona Foundation. Send to: Veronica Peralta, Department of Mexican American & Raza Studies, University of Arizona, Cesar Chavez Bldg, 1110 E. James Rogers Way, PO BOX 210023, Tucson AZ 85721-0023. For more info: VPERALTA@EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU or 520-626-8139.
FOR INFO, CONTACT: ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ AT MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES-U OF A: RODRIGU7@EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU OR 520-626-0824 FOR UPDATED INFO: http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
COLUMBUS DAY TRIALS SUMMARY
On Oct 12, when Columbus committed the ultimate criminal trespass in the history of humanity, 5 of us stood trial: Kim Dominguez-Livas, Ariana Santa Cruz, Crystal Terriquez, Jacob Robles & Roberto Rodriguez in Tucson -- in defense of Ethnic/Raza Studies. 15 of us were detained on May 13 for “Criminal Trespass,” while eventually, 13 of us were cited, including several minors. Briefs have to be filed re necessity defense... by pro bono attorney Richard Martinez. A hearing in mid-Nov, then a verdict shortly thereafter. There are more trials on the way, including Oct 21 for several more defendants, plus the O'tham brothers and sisters who took over the Border Patrol HQ in Tucson... stay tuned. http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
The three legs of this Arizona trilogy include:
SB 1070- the state’s racial profiling bill
HB 2281 – the anti-Ethnic/Raza Studies bill
Nullification of the 14th Amendment or Birthright Citizenship
We here in Arizona will never recognize them as [legitimate] laws.
At the moment, the courts have temporarily neutralized SB 1070 and it will be mired in litigation into the foreseeable future. However, by the time of the conference, the courts may have also already decided whether HB 2281 can be implemented or not. The sole purpose of this draconian law is to outright eliminate Tucson’s unique and highly successful K-12 Raza Studies program by Dec 31, 2010. Concurrently, conservative state legislators have vowed to introduce a bill that will nullify the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Arizona. It would prevent Arizona hospitals from issuing birth certificates to children born of parents who cannot prove their right to be in the United States. SB 1070 and HB 2281 were especially highlighted.
In Arizona, it is beyond a trilogy. We are also host to Operation Streamline, a Kangaroo Court of the first order which daily criminalizes some 70 migrants in a span of one hour, this while lining the pockets of the private Corrections Corporation of America to the tune of $13 million per month. The Arizona/Sonora desert is also the site of thousands of deaths along the border, not accidentally, but as an intentional strategy of the U.S. government to funnel migrants into the most inhospitable regions of the border.
The purpose of this conference is to show the world how a community under siege responds. Five UN Special Rapporteurs recently took special note of this siege, informing the world that the actions of the state legislature and the governor have created conditions that could violate the human dignity of the Mexican/Indigenous populations of the state.
While the timing of the conference coincides with the imminent dismantling of the Crown Jewel of 40 years of Ethnic Studies in the United States, the actual objective is to highlight the student-community-led resistance to these draconian measures. In regards to HB 2281, the conference’s objective is to highlight precisely what Ethnic/Raza Studies is by celebrating its thousands-of-years-old maiz-based pedagogies and epistemologies. These knowledges and ways of knowing that have been branded as “un American” by the state superintendent of schools. The conference is also an occasion to both honor and pay tribute to the Raza Studies students, alumni and educators who are part of this resistance/creation culture.
The resistance and organizing efforts of the past several years has been awe-inspiring. It has included a run between Tucson and Phoenix in 115-degree heat. It has also included protests, rallies, vigils and mass arrests. In regards to HB 2281, despite the wishes of the state superintendant of schools, it is highly doubtful that the Tucson/Arizona community will permit Ethnic/Raza Studies to go down.
Understanding that not all who wish to participate will be able to make the trip to this political desert, this here is a call to support this conference. Send whatever you can: $25, $50 or $100 in the name of The University of Arizona Foundation. Send to: Veronica Peralta, Department of Mexican American & Raza Studies, University of Arizona, Cesar Chavez Bldg, 1110 E. James Rogers Way, PO BOX 210023, Tucson AZ 85721-0023. For more info: VPERALTA@EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU or 520-626-8139.
FOR INFO, CONTACT: ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ AT MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES-U OF A: RODRIGU7@EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU OR 520-626-0824 FOR UPDATED INFO: http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
COLUMBUS DAY TRIALS SUMMARY
On Oct 12, when Columbus committed the ultimate criminal trespass in the history of humanity, 5 of us stood trial: Kim Dominguez-Livas, Ariana Santa Cruz, Crystal Terriquez, Jacob Robles & Roberto Rodriguez in Tucson -- in defense of Ethnic/Raza Studies. 15 of us were detained on May 13 for “Criminal Trespass,” while eventually, 13 of us were cited, including several minors. Briefs have to be filed re necessity defense... by pro bono attorney Richard Martinez. A hearing in mid-Nov, then a verdict shortly thereafter. There are more trials on the way, including Oct 21 for several more defendants, plus the O'tham brothers and sisters who took over the Border Patrol HQ in Tucson... stay tuned. http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
RAZA STUDIES LAWSUIT OCT 18
Tucson, Ariz. -- Save Ethnic Studies will hold a press conference on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010 following the filing of their lawsuit against Tom Horne and the Arizona State Board of Education.
The 11 plaintiffs, all ethnic studies educators, will discuss with the community the legal challenge they are bringing to HB 2281 which seeks to ban the teaching of Mexican-American studies in TUSD. This bill was signed into law on May 12, 2010. Since then Tom Horne has repeatedly stated that on Dec. 31, 2010 he will find the Mexican-American studies program in non-compliance of HB 2281, the first day that the law becomes effective.
What: 2281 Lawsuit Filing Press Conference
When: Monday, Oct. 18th, 4:00pm
Where: 326 S. Convent Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701, Courtyard
Contact: Deyanira Nevarez
2281 Project Director, Save Ethnic Studies
(520) 975-1485 cell
Thanks & Sincerely
Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Column of the Americas
PO BOX 3812
Tucson, AZ 85722
COLUMN: http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
You change my way of writing, you change my way of thinking. You change my way of thinking, you change who I am.
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