Read it? Angry yet? Good. Some highlights in case you missed them:
- "Students said the banned books were seized from their classrooms and out of their hands, after Tucson schools banned Mexican American Studies, including a book of photos of Mexico. Crying, students said it was like Nazi Germany, and they were unable to sleep since it happened."
- "Biggers said Shakespeare’s play 'The Tempest,' was also banned during the meeting this week. Administrators told Mexican-American studies teachers to stay away from any class units where 'race, ethnicity and oppression are central themes.'"
- "The reading list includes world acclaimed Chicano and Latino authors, along with Native American authors. The list includes books by Corky Gonzales, along with Sandra Cisneros’ 'The House on Mango Street;' Jimmy Santiago Baca’s 'Black Mesa Poems,' and L.A. Urreas’ 'The Devil’s Highway.' The authors include Henry David Thoreau and the popular book 'Like Water for Chocolate.'
- "...[books were singled out by] Arizona state superintendent of public instruction John Huppenthal, who campaigned in 2010 on the promise to 'stop la raza.' Huppenthal, who once lectured state educators that he based his own school principles for children on corporate management schemes of the Fortune 500, compared Mexican-American studies to Hitler Jugend indoctrination last fall."
I frankly don't care what your political leanings are. I frankly don't care how you feel about ethnic studies being taught as a distinct subject in schools. And as stupid as I think it is to ban what is widely regarded as one of the most revolutionary and excellent textbooks in America, that's not what the core issue is for me here.
The core issue is that we're keeping kids from reading books they clearly adore; books that resonate.
The core issue is that we're banning stories and authors so firmly entrenched in American culture--Like Water for Chocolate, The House on Mango Street, Thoreau, goddamn William Shakespeare--in the name of, and forgive me if I misunderstand, allowing kids to think for themselves.
Like I said, I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican or a blend of both or neither. I smell a rat. I smell a heap of rats.
And I'm sad.
When I went to go see Winona LaDuke--an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) activist, former vice-presidential candidate, and one of the writers on the banned list--speak last year, she said something that resonated with me deeply. I don't remember the exact words, and I'm fairly certain she was quoting someone else (attribute away in the comments section), but the gist of it was this:
If we're not at the table, we're on it. If we're not a part of the discussion, we're no longer human.
If talk of race is no longer allowed at the table, if talk of ethnicity is no longer allowed at the table, if talk of oppression is no longer allowed at the table: where are we? Where is the challenge? How do we grow? How do kids learn what's beyond their horizons?
The question of whether or not we should have classes on Mexican-American studies is a complex one that I can't answer in a blog post. The question of whether or not it's okay to censor the authors, art, and literature of a culture--any culture--is a little simpler: it's not.
Whatever happened to the melting pot?
If Martin Luther King were alive today, that's what I think he'd be asking: if the color of our skin doesn't matter, what are schools afraid of? Why are we banning books? Why aren't we letting kids make up their own damn minds?
I still don't know the answer. I just know there are still so many questions to ask.
4 comments:
I had this history teacher in high school who said repeatedly that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. How can we not teach ethnic studies to our kids? How can we help the next generation become enlightened and tolerant and open minded if we don't teach them about that which is different from them? This is truly disgusting!
Strongly agree with this post--thanks for sharing it. Just FYI, I had the opportunity to visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC today. They've got a great exhibition on Nazi propaganda and censorship that you may want to check out if you have the chance. There's also a digital version up on their website.
"This isn't just the systematic erasure of cultures and peoples. It's the systematic erasure of thought." Bravo, my friend. The concept that race is SUCH a non-issue that it should never be mentioned is one driven by racists themselves. When we only shine light on the white North American narrative, entire histories are annihilated. I'm enraged by this kind of behavior and I'm glad you've written about it.
It's easier to have a bunch of mindless workers that buy into the system than it is to have people who think for themselves. Because people who think for themselves can topple a system that has been built on racial basis. People who think for themselves do not stay quiet about histories that are trying to be erased.
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