Rift in Arizona as Latino Class Is Found Illegal
Travis Turner and Anissa Soto in their Latino literature class at Tucson High Magnet School.
By MARC LACEY
Published: January 7, 2011
TUCSON — The class began with a Mayan-inspired chant and a vigorous round of coordinated hand clapping. The classroom walls featured protest signs, including one that said “United Together in La Lucha!” — the struggle. Although open to any student at Tucson High Magnet School, nearly all of those attending Curtis Acosta’s Latino literature class on a recent morning were Mexican-American.
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Jill Torrance for The New York Times
Curtis Acosta spoke to his students about their future after Arizona said their Mexican-American studies program was illegal.
For all of that and more, Mr. Acosta’s class and others in the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American program have been declared illegal by the State of Arizona — even while similar programs for black, Asian and American Indian students have been left untouched.