short essay
Hijacking History
Censorship and Cultural Genocide as Weapons of
Racism in Arizona
Hijacking History
Statement of the Problem
Arizona House Bill 2281 took effect on January 1, 2011 statewide: Amending Title 15, Chapter 1, Article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes Sections 15-111 and 15-112: Amending Section 15-843, Arizona Revised Statutes: Relating to School Curriculum.
This research project will unpack this new legislation and disclose more about what it is, how it was passed, the intentions of the lawmakers, the reactions of Arizona educators, students and mainstream society, and the potential impact on the future of education in Arizona.
Hijacking History
The verbatim text of the bill has four essential provisions as follows: A school district or charter school in this state shall not include in its program of instruction any courses or classes that include any of the following:
1. Promote the overthrow of the United States Government.
2. Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.
3. Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.
4. Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
Hijacking History
Let’s begin with what the bill does not do:
1. It has no effect on college or university classrooms. It is aimed solely at Kindergarten through 12th grade students in the public school system.
2. It is not an ethnic studies ban per se. Ethnic studies classes may still be taught but with some very specific conditions.
3. Arizona legislators insist there are no banned books, rather they have merely been relocated to libraries or storage facilities.
Hijacking History
Who authored and sponsored the bill?
The original bill was authored by former Superintendent of Schools in the Tucson Unified School District, Tom Horne. A Conservative Republican, Horne is now the state Attorney General of Arizona.
The bill continues to be defended strongly and supported vigorously by John Huppenthal, Horne’s successor in Tucson. HB2281 was passed on April 11, 2010.
The bill was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer on May 11, 2010. Governor Brewer also supports this legislation.
Hijacking History
Preliminary research indicates a partial list of what HB2281 does do that is not in dispute.
It largely concerns Mexican-American Studies (MAS)
as well as Native American Studies and Authors.
A list of approximately 50 books, along with posters and artwork were ordered by Horne to be removed from public classrooms. They were duly boxed up during the middle of a typical school day, in front of students, and physically removed from classrooms across Tucson. These items were authored primarily but not totally by Chicano-Latino and American Indian authors.
It gave Superintendent John Huppenthal the authority to withhold a portion (10%) of state educational funding if he believes any violations have occurred by a public school in Arizona.
Hijacking History
What do the opponents of HB2281 say?
Horne and Huppenthal ran for political office on a platform that vowed to “Stop La Raza” and “Take back Arizona.” (quotes confirmed by this research)
Half the seats in public schools in Arizona are occupied by Chicano-Latino students who are being deprived of their ethnic identity and right to an education that accurately depicts their history and culture.
HB2281 is a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
“The libertarian and individualistic foundations of Western culture are viewed as iconic in Arizona, and it is no coincidence that the more communitarian impulses of Raza peoples are denigrated as politically dangerous and pedagogically bereft.” (Randall Amster, J.D., Ph.D)
Hijacking History
In celebration of the Librotraficante "book smugglers," even the New York Times editorial board called out TUSD's hypocrisy:
School officials say the books are not technically banned, just redistributed to the library. But what good is having works from the reading list -- like "Los Tucsonenses: The Mexican Community in Tucson, 1854-1941" and "The House on Mango Street," by Sandra Cisneros -- on the shelves if they can't be taught? Indeed, the point of dismantling the curriculum was to end classroom discussions about these books.
Fighting Arizona's Attack on Ethnic Studies - Maya Arce, et al. v. John Huppenthal, et. al The ten-day bench trial over the constitutionality of the enactment and enforcement of the law that was used to terminate the Mexican American Studies Program at the Tucson Unified School District took place during June and July 2017. Transcripts for each trial day appear above.
In May 2010, House Bill (H.B.) 2281 was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona. The law, since codified as A.R.S § 15-112, prohibits courses or classes that
"[p]romote the overthrow of the United States government...
[p]romote resentment toward a race or class of people;
[a]re designed for pupils of a particular ethnic group; [or]
[a]dvocate ethnic solidarity instead of treatment of pupils as individuals."
Enforcement of this statute led to the elimination of the highly successful Mexican American Studies (MAS) courses program in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) as well as the removal of books illuminating Mexican American history and perspectives from TUSD classrooms.
A group of teachers and students challenged the constitutionality of H.B. 2281 in federal court. Though the teachers were dismissed from the lawsuit, the students, Maya Arce, Korina Lopez, and Nicolas Dominguez, continued the challenge. (The plaintiffs have changed over the years as the student plaintiffs graduate from high school, and the current plaintiffs are Tucson sophomores Manuel Barcelo and Noah González and their fathers.) In March 2013, the district court declared subsection (3) above unconstitutionally overbroad, but granted summary judgment to the defendants on all of the students' other claims.
9th Circuit & Amicus Briefs
The students appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On November 18, 2013, they filed their opening brief, arguing among other things, that the statute violates first amendment rights and the right to equal protection and is unconstitutionally overbroad and vague.
On November 25, 2013, six amicus briefs were filed supporting the students' appeal from an impressive group of individuals and organizations from across the country, including:
Authors of Books Banned from TUSD
National Education Association and Arizona Education Association
Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy and the Anti-Defamation League
PERO STILL NO MAS
The ten-day bench trial of the equal protection and first amendment claims took place in June and July of 2017 before the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima. The plaintiffs' trial team included Steven A. Reiss, David Fitzmaurice, Luna Barrington, Richard M. Martinez, James W. Quinn, and Professor Robert S. Chang.
Discrimination is the only explanation for Arizona’s banning of Mexican American Studies, threatening intellectual freedom for the entire nation.
A federal appeals court suggested as much in their opinion on July 7, 2015.
Hijacking History
A small sample of the material that has been removed from classrooms per HB2281:
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years (Bigelow & Peterson)
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (Dr. Rodolfo Acuña)
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Paulo Freire)
The Tempest (William Shakespeare)
Bless me Ultima (Rudolfo Anaya)
Yo Soy Joaquín (Corky Gonzalez)
Chicano! 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures (E.S. Martinez)
Zoot Suit and Other Plays (Luis Valdez)
Women Hollering Creek (Sandra Cisneros)
Borderlands /La Frontera: The New Mestiza (Gloria Anzaldúa)
Like Water For Chocolate (L. Esquievel)
Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History (F.A. Rosales)
Civil Disobedience (H. D. Thoreau)
Hijacking History
What do the supporters of HB2281 say?
There is a paucity of public opinions in support of HB2281. They are limited primarily to the more conservative factions of the Republican political party as well as the authors of the bill. Fox News has broadcast several interviews with Tom Horne and John Huppenthal.
MAS (Mexican American Studies) is not edifying or educational. Rather, it fosters hate and rebellion among minority groups, particularly Latinos.
The objectionable books and materials unfairly represent the facts of history by creating impressions of dominance and oppression by the dominant culture.
Huppenthal has stated that he personally observed a MAS classroom in Tucson that celebrated a poster of Ché Guevara while villainizing Benjamin Franklin as a racist.
MAS and ethnic studies are “heavy on feeling, light on fact and drowning with 1970’s victim rhetoric.” (Corrine Harris, The Daily Evergreen, 3/1/2012)
MAS promotes resentment toward the dominant culture. When books (like Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto) are used inappropriately they promote hate. Tucson Unified is segregating students, “dividing them up, teaching each group only about its own background, and in Raza studies, particularly, its an extremely radical agenda, anti-capitalist, anti-free enterprise, separatists. They say we should give back to Mexico the states we took from Mexico in 1848 including Arizona, California—” (Tom Horne speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, 2010)
Hijacking History
Current and future research on this project includes:
An interview with Richard Martinez, Esq., Tucson Unified educators.
An Interview with a representative of the Tucson Unified School District.
Complete Legal Text of HB2281.
Complete legal pleadings/texts of current and ongoing litigation between class action plaintiffs who oppose HB2281 and the defending Respondents State of Arizona.
Transcripts of a Democracy Now! Episode featuring John Huppenthal and Richard Martinez debating HB2281.
A complete list of books and materials that appear to have been removed from public classrooms.
Literature reviews of some 35 articles both pro and con HB2281.
Copies of the actual court orders issued by the courts in Arizona.
Administrative Hearing Legal Texts.
Telephonic conference with the Tucson Board of Education
Hijacking History
References Cited and Resources Consulted (1 of 3)
Amster, R. (2010, December 28). Arizona bans ethnic studies and along with it, reasonand justice [Editorial]. Truthout.
Arizona��s Ethnic Studies Fight Is Simply About Hate. (n.d.). NewsTaco. Retrieved February 20, 2013, from http://www.newstaco.com/2011/09/29/arizonas-ethnic-studies-fight-is-simply-about-hate/
Frichner, T. G. (2010, April). Preliminary Study on the Doctrine of Discovery [Scholarly project]. Retrieved January 24, 2013.Statement by the North American Representative to the 9th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Impact on Indigenous Peoples of the International Legal construct known as the Doctrine of Discovery, which has served as the Foundation of the Violation of their Human Rights
Garcia, J. E. (n.d.). Banning ethnic studies won't end idea. Azcentral.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/20120115ethnic-studies-wont-end-idea.html
Goodman, A., & Shaikh, N. (Writers). (2012, January 18). Democracy Now! [Transcript, Television broadcast]. In Democracy Now! Public Broadcasting.Full text of debate between Richard Martinez, the attorney representing teachers and students in Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American Studies program and John Huppenthal, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Hannity, S. (2010, May 25). Arizona School District's Radical Mexican-American Studies Program Exposed | Fox News. Fox News. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,593511,00.htmlInterview with John Huppenthal in support of HB2281
.
Hijacking History
(2 of 3)
HB2281, Ethnic Studies, and the Diversity Deficit. (n.d.). Arizona Daily Independent. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from http://arizonadailyindependent.com/2011/01/16/hb2281-ethnic-studies-and-the-diversity-deficit/
Hing, J. (n.d.). Arizona�s Gov. Brewer Signs Ethnic Studies Ban Into Law - COLORLINES. RSS. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/05/arizonas_gov_brewer_signs_ethnic_studies_ban_into_law.html
In the matter of the hearing on appeal by: Tucson Unified School District, Court Record (Office of Administrative Hearings; Phoenix, Arizona December 27, 2011).This is the text of the Administrative Law Judge Decision No. 11F-002-ADE
La Bloga. (2012).
Left Coast Rebel: Arizona Passes HB 2281 Bill Banning Leftist 'Ethnic Studies' Programs. (n.d.). Left Coast Rebel: Arizona Passes HB 2281 Bill Banning Leftist 'Ethnic Studies' Programs. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://www.leftcoastrebel.com/2010/04/arizona-passes-hb-2281-bill-banning.html
Lundholm, N. B., Esq. (2011). Cutting Class: Why Arizona's ethnic studies ban won't ban ethnic studies. Arizona Law Review, 53, 1-50.
MALDEF Natonal Headquarters, Los Angeles Office. (2013, February 9). Maldef, Tucson Students Triuomph After Nearly 40 Years in Historic Desegregation Case Court [Press release]. Retrieved February 20, 2013, from www.maldef.org/assets/pdf/MENDOZA_020613_Order.pdf
Martin, M. (2012, June 18). Mexican American Studies: Bad ban or bad class? Http://www.npr.org/2012/01/18/145397005/mexican-american-studies-bad-ban-or-bad-class. Retrieved February 26, 2013.Interview with Huppenthal in support of HB2281.
Hijacking History
(3 of 3)
Nahuacalli Educators Alliance In Imiuh Tenamaztle. (2012, March 29). Three Sonorans. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://threesonorans.com/2012/03/
RODOLFO ACU�A on his banned book, 'Occupied America: A History of Chicanos' (n.d.). Vimeo. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from http://vimeo.com/26961450
Rodriguez, G. (2012, February 20). Why Arizona banned ethnic studies. Los Angeles Times.
Todd, K. (2012). "No MAS!": Inside the Dismantling of Tucson's Mexican American Studies Program (Part I). Awduucla. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://awduucla.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/no-mas-inside-the-dismantling-of-tucsons-mexican-american-studies-program-part-i/
United States, House of Representatives: 49th Legislature: Second Regular Session, State of Arizona. (2010). House Bill 2218 (pp. 1-4). Phoenix, AZ: State of Arizona.
UPDATES. (2012). Save Ethnic Studies Updates. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from http://www.saveethnicstudies.org/
Victory Over Tucson School District Could Lead to Mexican American Studies ... (2013, February 8). Huffington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/08/victory-over-tucson-school-district-case-mexican-american-studies_n_2647077.html
Victory Over Tucson School District Could Lead to Mexican American Studies ... (2013, February 8). Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/08/victory-over-tucson-school-district-case-mexican-american-studies_n_2647077.html
The View From LL2. (n.d.). The View From LL2. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://viewfromll2.com/2010/05/14/arizonas-ban-on-ethnic-studies-doesnt-actually-ban-anything/
Willis, D. (2012, March 15). Airwaves: Banned Books: Writers speak out. Las Cruces Sun-News.
Hijacking History
To Be
Continued