The Actual Arizona Ruling Banning Ethnic Studies in the state's public schools
This the complete ruling: TUSD’s Mexican American Studies classes violated state law, a state administrative law judge ruled Tuesday, ruling that 10 percent of the district’s funding be withheld.
In issuing his decision, Judge Lewis D. Kowal found that the Tucson program promoted “social or political activism against the white people.” Specifically it included at least one class that 1) promoted “racial resentment” 2) was “designed primarily for one ethnic group” and 3) advocated “ethnic solidarity instead of treating pupils as individuals.”
Arizona's Ethnic Studies Ruling Jan 2012
Repeal the Arizona Government Ruling Outlawing Teaching ethnic/racial Studies
SIGN ON at: http://signon.org/sign/repeal-the-arizona-governmen
To be delivered to: The Arizona State House, The Arizona State Senate, Governor Jan Brewer, The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama
Petition to Repeal the Arizona Government Ruling Outlawing Teaching ethnic/racial Studies
From The National Black Education Agenda - www.blackeducationnow.org
Tuscon, AZ Administrative law judge Lewis Kowal in his ruling to outlaw teaching Mexican American Studies said, “Teaching oppression objectively is quite different than actively presenting material in a biased, political, and emotionally charged manner.”
“Teaching in such a manner promotes social or political activism against the white people, promotes racial resentment, and advocates ethnic solidarity, instead of treating pupils as individuals,” Kowal wrote. He cited a lesson that taught students that the historic treatment of Mexican-Americans was “marked by the use of force, fraud and exploitation,” and a parent’s complaint that one of her daughters, who was white, was shunned by Latino classmates after a government course was taught “in an extremely biased manner.”
See: http://wordstrike.net/ethnic-studies-ruling-escalates-arizona-schools
This racist Arizona ruling not only applies to Mexican American Studies, it also implicates Black/African American/Africana Studies, Latino/Hispanic Studies, Native American and Asian Studies within public schools and state and city colleges and universities. Given their records, there is NO presidential candidate--Democratic or Republican--who will support the fight to repeal this ruling.
Let's be clear, America’s ruling elites want a "postracial" society in which white supremacy racism remains unchallenged. In less than twenty years, however, they will rule a nation of majority folk of color. Therefore, they cannot afford the historic truth to be told to this generation because it would expose their "superiority-by-nature" as one of the world's greatest hoaxes.
Hence, we are outraged that there is a national silence on this racist ruling.
WE activist educators, parents and students have to fight to destroy this ruling and the rationale being used to justify it-- even if we don't live in Arizona--because it has immediate national implications. Many states could pass similar laws banning the teaching of so-called "ethnic studies". In fact, this ruling jeopardizes all forms of ethnic and gender studies that critically examine U.S. history.
Signing this petition, letter-writing, supporting the Arizona fightback students, teachers and parents, statewide boycotts, emails, demonstrations, legal battles. . .Occupy To Decolonize. . .are all the things we need to do start 2012 off with victory in mind and in hand.
Mexican American Studies, Latino/Hispanic Studies, Black/African American/Africana Studies, Native American Studies and Asian Studies are all here to reveal the true American history of resistance and struggle and of powerful and beautiful cultures and alliances with people of all backgrounds woven from these struggles.
Thru this petition, let our outrage against this racist and anti-intellectual onslaught upon public education and our demand that the Studies of People of Color become an integral part of U.S. public education be heard by the City of Tuscon, the Arizona state government, as well as the U.S. Congress, President Obama and all the presidential candidates who seek to occupy the White House.
SIGN ON at: http://signon.org/sign/repeal-the-arizona-governmen