Rodriguez: Hate, Censorship and against Forbidden Curricula

Supporting the Dec 2-4 Arizona Conference
Combating Hate, Censorship, and against Forbidden Curricula

We are just a couple of weeks away from our Dec 2-4 conference that will address the issues of Hate, Censorship and Forbidden Curricula in the state of Arizona.

The recent elections have only intensified the crisis and siege we’ve been living the past four years. Jan Brewer was elected governor, riding primarily on the wave of anti-Mexican sentiment prevalent in Arizona. State Sen. Russell Pearce – the author of Arizona’s new racial profiling measure, SB 1070 is now majority leader of the state Senate. He has vowed to introduce legislation that will nullify the 14th amendment or birthright citizenship for the children whose parents cannot prove their right to be in the country. State school superintendent Tom Horne – the architect of HB 2281, which seeks to ban ethnic studies in Arizona’s K -12 schools – was elected the state’s attorney general, where he can do worse damage there. His successor, state senator John Huppenthal, has vowed to carry on Horne’s fight at the university level. And the Ward Connerly-initiated anti-affirmative action Proposition 107, under the guise of a civil rights initiative, passed. And of course, Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues with his media-seeking raids, while deaths and militarization along the border continue unabated.

This conference will highlight the heroic response by our community. This resistance has resulted in several arrests (while there have been several acquittals, the trials of 8 defendants are still pending). Separately, 10 teachers and the director of Raza Studies in Tucson have sued the state. For info re this historic lawsuit, filed by attorney Richard Martinez can be found at: http://www.saveethnicstudies.org/

You are invited to attend our conference, which will primarily be a series of dialogues amongst our community, conscious that Arizona is but a lab experiment for the rest of the nation. It will also end with a floricanto, something for our spirits. For info re the prelim conference schedule, for columns related to this crisis and for info re supporting the conference, please go to: http://drcintli.blogspot.com


Thanks & Sincerely
Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Professor, University of Arizona
Mexican American Studies
520-626-0824
rodrigu7@email.arizona.edu