Recently the Latino community has faced what most Hispanic residents believe to be unfair laws.
Tom Horne, Arizona’s new attorney general, has already shut down the Mexican-American Ethnic Studies Program in the Tucson Unified School District. He accused the program of manipulating students by reading literary works that were critical of the relationship the U.S. had with Latin America and the way in which the Latino community was treated.
Horne, previously Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction, wrote the law believing that some programs such as the Mexican-American Ethnic Studies in the Tucson Unified School District harbored attitudes that were negative, instigating “resentment towards a race or class of people.” This program was shut down following Horne’s inauguration into Arizona’s attorney general seat.
Diversity showcases the arts, hopes, dreams and culture of a people. New York, Boston and many other large cities are examples of feats that can be reached with tolerance and diversity.
Dozens of languages spoken around the country each have a way of preserving and defining cultural identity, all while citizens stand under a U.S. flag.
Studies that revolve around the Holocaust, national revolutions and countless conflicts between race and class continue to be taught to Arizona’s students. Part of the state law reads: “Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict or prohibit the instruction of the Holocaust, any other instance of genocide, or the historical oppression of a particular group of people based on ethnicity, race or class.”
While the law is in effect , it’s clear what parents and students who oppose Horne must do. Like Martin Luther King said, “Any time is a good time to do what’s right,” and it is our personal responsibility even as Texans, to support diverse education – in this case namely Mexican-American studies.
As Phoenix, Arizona is the fourth largest Mexican-American community in the country, it’s a mystery as to why the law has set its sights on subduing Mexican-American studies rather than the genocides, ethnic and racial oppressions throughout history.
