Thursday, July 5, 2012

Schools Matter: Mayor Villaraigosa and PLAS CEO Tuck bring Arizona style bigotry to Los Angeles

Schools Matter: Mayor Villaraigosa and PLAS CEO Tuck bring Arizona style bigotry to Los Angeles:


Mayor Villaraigosa and PLAS CEO Tuck bring Arizona style bigotry to Los Angeles

"We had an African American woman walk up to us and say 'why do you need Ethnic Studies?', and we looked at each other and said, 'that's exactly why we need Ethnic Studies!'" — Santee Students speaking at PLAS protest.
It would be a mistake to think the absolutely tragic stream of bigoted and racist legislation flowering in Arizona is confined to Arizona alone. Sadly, one of the most egregious perpetrators removing access to ethnic studies and heritage language programs in this country isn't Michael Hicks, Tom Horne, or John Huppenthal, but a privately managed organization called Partnership for Los Angeles Schools (PLAS) founded by the vehemently anti-public education Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.
PLAS' latest attack comes in the form of killing the only Ethnic Studies program at the culturally diverse South