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Monday, July 30, 2012

Arizona and the Role of the Intellectual: When History Beckoned, What Did You Do?

By Roberto Cintli Rodriguez,
Monday, 30 July 2012 10:02 

News Analysis TRUTHOUT


http://truth-out.org/opinion/

item/10595-arizona-and-the-role-of-the-intellectual-when-history-beckoned-what-did-you-do

When historians examine Arizona's early 21st century, including the anti-immigrant SB 1070 and the anti- Ethnic Studies HB 2281, the question they will ask of intellectuals is not what side they were on. Instead, they will ask, what did you do?

As the pols sought to take us into the dark ages, the historians will ask: did you observe from afar and sit idly by or did you step forward to prevent the pols from taking us back into the 1500s?
I am often asked this question; they also ask me this about my colleagues.

Often, I am generous. I usually respond, that we, that they, are all doing something. Perhaps not enough, but we and they are doing something.

The students, youth and community are often not quite as generous as I.

Since the turn-of-the-century, and especially since September 11, 2001, Arizona has been at the epicenter of a nationwide battle centered on the meaning of the U.S. Constitution, and even more specifically, over what it means to be human. In the name of national security, the right wing has been quick to surrender privacy and human rights. In Arizona, this has translated into a heightened alert status at a militarized border, and the normalization of racial profiling directed at red-brown peoples. This has come at a time of thousands of deaths along the border as a result of peoples fleeing their homes, desperately attempting to make a better life for themselves and their families. These acts of survival, many precipitated by NAFTA, have created unprecedented racial and cultural resentment, resulting in many draconian measures, culminating with the now infamous SB 1070, a would-be law that essentially codifies and requires law enforcement officers to racially profile. In June, three of the four provisions up before the court were stricken down and there are good chances that it will all eventually be stricken down.

Not content with attacking peoples whom these pols consider to be outside of the law, they have also passed another measure, which dictates what knowledge is permissible and what thinking is permissible; it dictates what can be taught and what can be learned. This is HB 2281.

These "laws" have provoked historic and monumental struggles. In Tucson, aside from law enforcement repression relative to immigration related issues, this has also resulted in a concerted assault against Tucson's Mexican American Studies (MAS) department under the Orwellian rationale that it teaches hate and resentment and the overthrow of the U.S. government.

Specifically, its indigenous knowledge component has been attacked, purportedly because its philosophical foundation is derived from maiz-based knowledge, as opposed to Greco-Roman knowledge, and thus is "outside of Western civilization."

Even the name of the department has been under assault; it was formerly called La Raza Studies. Due to extreme right wing pressure, which is essentially illiterate about these matters, the department was forced to change its name. La Raza is derived from a broader concept called La Raza Cosmica, developed by Mexican educator, Jose Vasconcelos in 1925. The concept is the antithesis of racial purity: it alludes to the mixture of all the peoples and cultures of the world.

These struggles harken back to the 1500s because the very same questions being asked and the very same determinations being made then are the ones now in play. Europeans could not understand or comprehend our existence. They debated whether we were human and had souls. The side that believed that we indeed were human officially won the debate. But they did not do so because they believed in our equality and our full humanity; they did so for the purpose of mass conversions. They believed that we had souls, but that they were in need of saving and they self-righteously assigned themselves this task. This in no way entitled us to be treated as full human beings with corresponding full human rights.

Amazingly, those were the ones on our side. It is mind-boggling what the other side had in mind. Actually, those that lost the intellectual and spiritual debate, in the end, won the political debate, hence the legacy of 300 years of violent colonialism - which included land theft, slavery and other forms of forced labor, and codified exploitation, segregation and discrimination.

The reason they believed that we needed our souls saved is because they also believed that we were uncivilized. And that's being kind; they actually believed we were demonic. That, essentially, is the same language of former state schools' superintendent, Tom Horne. When he began his crusade against Raza Studies in 2006, it was he who invoked the idea that the department was outside of Western civilization. Perhaps to this day, he does not comprehend the ramifications of such a characterization. It was the very same judgment that permitted the violent colonization of this continent.

Purportedly, we were not human; we were not Christians, therefore those that came from the other side of the ocean, via the so-called doctrine of discovery, were entitled ownership of the land - and our bodies and our souls were simply part of the spoils.

To this day, that is what establishes their "legality," and their "legal" claim to the land. This is how people from across the oceans became legal and those of us from here, from maiz-based cultures spanning many thousands of years, became sub human or at best, foreigners and illegitimate human beings. In today's lingo, "illegal" on our own lands. After more than 500 years, not content with owning the land, these pols are seemingly still laying claim to our bodies, our minds and our spirits... and apparently, also our souls.

Little wonder why MAS teachers are not supposed to teach their own culture or history to our students.

That's why the struggle is of epic proportions. That's why it involves both SB 1070 and HB 2281. For those who are not sure about what motivates Arizona's politicians, it is incumbent upon everyone to read former State Senate President Russell Pearce's e-mails recently uncovered by the ACLU.
People can also get a glimpse by keeping up with the racial profiling trial, featuring Sheriff Joe Arpaio's communications at: (http://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/sheriff-arpaio-racial-profiling-illegal). Both leave a long trail and also leave no doubt as to what we are up against. Both believe that Mexican peoples are less than human.
Of course, in their defense, they don't hate or target Mexicans and they don't hate or target immigrants; they only hate and target the "illegals"... the ones that just happen to look like Mexicans and Central Americans... the ones they see on street corners looking for work, in stores, at restaurants and at the parks.

Hence, the question: when these politicians attempted to take us back into the 1500s, what did you do?

My colleagues, professors at colleges and universities nationwide, and even more specifically, professors who teach ethnic studies and Chicana/Chicano studies, what did we do?

Truthfully, this has not been an attack simply on Raza Studies, but instead, it has been an attack on the very idea of education. Restrict and prohibit classes and curricula and you wind up with Swiss cheese education. Students are free to learn everything that is not prohibited. Many people believe that this is about banned books. The reality is that it is much bigger; even beyond censorship: it is about the banning of a worldview.

This is why the question of what we should do, has to be asked of every educator. It is not somebody else's issue; at the very core of this struggle is the battle over what it means to be human. Shall we permit government to pass laws reminiscent of the 1500s, when most people on this continent were considered less than human, less than equal and less deserving of their full human rights?

One part of history that is unknown to most people throughout the country, even in Tucson itself, is that when the student group UNIDOS took over the school board in April of 2011 –in defense of Mexican American Studies – they invoked the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This was historic; it was their answer to both Mr. Horne and his successor, Mr. John Huppenthal. Outside of Western civilization indeed!

How did the school board respond? How did TUSD superintendent, Dr. John Pedicone respond? Shamefully, is the best word that can be used. The following week, the TUSD responded with a massive police presence. It responded with police dogs, with sharpshooters, with a bomb squad, with a helicopter, with more than 100 police, including fully equipped riot police. Inside, seven women were arrested for attempting to speak, and outside students and community members were harassed, physically abused and beaten. To this day, there has never been an investigation and, to this day, the school board has not provided an explanation, nor has anyone been held accountable.

Instead, supporters of MAS continue to be demonized, and of course, now MAS has been dismantled.
And so we return to the question to my colleagues? What have they done? What have we done?
It is not too late to answer the question; it is not too late to step forward in this struggle of epic proportions. Yes, we've done some, but we can do a lot more. The students notice. Many national organizations have denounced Arizona's state legislature and the governor for these backward state measures. Also recently, a conference was convened to lay the groundwork for expanding Raza Studies at the pre-K-12 level nationwide (RazaStudiesNow.com).

Yet, that question of what have we done should be asked not simply of my colleagues nationwide, but of everyone. What did we all do when the forces of ignorance attempted to take us back into the dark ages?

And what of those from the community? They've been there, sometimes, but not always. Not like the students, not like the youths. When it has been time to defend the department and to defend the discipline, it has been the students that have stepped forward with their bodies, their minds and their spirits – the very essence of who they are – which is what is under attack.

With my own eyes, I have seen the definition of courage in the eyes of students who have been beaten down, who have been told that their history is not worthy of being studied, that their culture is deficient, and that they are less than full human beings.

I have seen the students literally beaten, I've seen them arrested and I have seen them at all-night vigils, march across the city, protest in front of the school board and inside the state building. I've seen them rally and I've seen them walkout. I've seen them at community forums; I've seen them step forward, when others stepped back or when others were conspicuously MIA. I've seen them run through the desert in 115-degree heat to deliver messages to the state superintendent, the state legislature and to the governor, and I've seen them eloquently address the Tucson school board.
Through all this, I've seen them face hate and condescension and I've seen them ridiculed and demeaned. I've seen this in person and also in the media. I have seen the faces of dehumanization, but more importantly, in the students, I have seen the faces of courage...of coraje.

These students have taught our Tucson community, and the world, the meaning not simply of resistance, but of creation-resistance. Their reality is not dependent upon reacting to the forces of hate, bigotry and ignorance. They've organized themselves. They've created their own school. They've trained themselves and they've secured their own organizing space. These several generations of students (Social Justice Education Project, UNIDOS and; MEChA) battle because they believe in their right to a relevant education. Many of them have long graduated from MAS and yet they continue to battle. Many say it is no longer for them, but for their younger brothers and sisters... and for their children.

What has always been incredible is the way Dr. Pedicone and the school board have always treated them. Noting that they have already dismantled MAS, they often wonder, they often ask why the students and community keep coming back?

Cesar Chavez once said that once you educate a person, you cannot un-educate them.

This is why the students keep coming back. They know their history and they are fully aware of their human rights. That is why they invoked the 2007 UN declaration. They know who they are.

The school board knows that the students are guided by the maiz-based ethos of: In Lak Ech -You are my other me. Contrary to what their detractors say, they have never been violent, precisely because of that ethos. But also, perhaps the school board and Dr. Pedicone are miffed by Panche Be-To seek the root of the Truth. It is not simply about seeking truth, but about critical education and seeking justice. That's why they don't go away.

At the moment, there are many legal cases wending through the court system; both state measures continue to be challenged on constitutional grounds. Tragically one of the legal cases involves a $1 million lawsuit against two educators from Tucson's MAS department: its former director, Sean Arce and teacher, Jose Gonzalez.

It is a slap suit, without merit, designed to silence and intimidate those who battle to defend the now seemingly defunct MAS department. But as the students and community always tell the school board: long after they are gone, MAS will still be here.

This is why the question is asked; not what did others do, but what did you do?

When Tom Horne said that MAS was outside of Western civilization, what did you do? When the school board shut down the department, what did you do? When the curriculum and the books were banned, what did you do? When MAS teacher, Norma Gonzalez was forced to take down the Aztec Calendar, what did you do? When the teachers were fired, what did you do? When they were sued, what did you do?

This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. 

* There are several ways you can act. There is still time to attend Tucson’s Freedom Summer.  For info, go to: tucsonfreedomsummer.com. To learn more about and to assist the educators being sued, go to: http://tinyurl.com/RazaDefenseFund 
* UNIDOS can be reached at: unidostucson.wordpress.com and facebook! 

Roberto Cintli Rodriguez

Five of Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez's books and one video are on the banned curriculum list. The video is: “Amoxtli San Ce Tojuan.” The books are: “Justice: A Question of Race,” “Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut and Uncensored,” “The X in La Raza,” “Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human,” and “Cantos Al Sexto Sol.” This last book is a collection of more than 100 Raza/Indigenous writers, writing on the topic of origins and migrations. These bans highlight that virtually the entire cultural production of the past generation of Raza/Indigenous writers/artists has been criminalized.

Rodriguez teaches at the University of Arizona and can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com - http://drcintli.blogspot.com/

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Anaheim Police shooting archives

Anaheim Police shooting archives


http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/anaheim_police_shooting_desmad/

Anaheim: The brother was executed!

Latest video:

Looks like the brother in Anaheim was executed. You can clearly see he was handcuffed. No doubt there will be an excuse, but at end of video, you can clearly see he is handcuffed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIwjUQYnWMM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Pass it on.

I already heard one excuse...that it is policy by all law enforcement to handcuff anyone who is shot, including those shot in the head. Amazing.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Arizona and the role of the intellectual: When history beckoned, what did you do?

By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Special-length column



When historians examine Arizona’s early 21st century, including the anti-immigrant SB 1070 and the anti-Ethnic Studies HB 2281, the question they will ask of intellectuals is not what side they were on. Instead, they will ask, what did you do? 

As the pols sought to take us into the dark ages, the historians will ask: did you observe from afar and sit idly by or did you step forward to prevent the pols from taking us back into the 1500s?

I am often asked this question; they also ask me this about my colleagues. 

Often, I am generous. I usually respond, that we, that they, are all doing something. Perhaps not enough, but we and they are doing something. 

The students, youth and community are often not quite as generous as I. 

Since the turn-of-the-century, and especially since September 11, 2001, Arizona has been at the epicenter of a nationwide battle centered on the meaning of the U.S. Constitution, and even more specifically, over what it means to be human. In the name of national security, the right wing has been quick to surrender privacy and human rights. In Arizona, this has translated into a heightened alert status at a militarized border, and the normalization of racial profiling directed at red-brown peoples. This has come at a time of thousands of deaths along the border as a result of peoples fleeing their homes, desperately attempting to make a better life for themselves and their families. These acts of survival, many precipitated by NAFTA, have created unprecedented racial and cultural resentment, resulting in many draconian measures, culminating with the now infamous SB 1070, a would-be law that essentially codifies and requires law enforcement officers to racially profile. In June, three of the four provisions up before the court were stricken down and there are good chances that it will all eventually be stricken down. 
Banned Poster

Not content with attacking peoples whom these pols consider to be outside of the law, they have also passed another measure, which dictates what knowledge is permissible and what thinking is permissible; it dictates what can be taught and what can be learned. This is HB 2281. 

These "laws" have provoked historic and monumental struggles. In Tucson, aside from law enforcement repression relative to immigration related issues, this has also resulted in a concerted assault against Tucson’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) department under the Orwellian rationale that it teaches hate and resentment and the overthrow of the U.S. government. 

Specifically, its indigenous knowledge component has been attacked, purportedly because its philosophical foundation is derived from maiz-based knowledge, as opposed to Greco-Roman knowledge, and thus is "outside of Western civilization." 

Even the name of the department has been under assault; it was formerly called La Raza Studies. Due to extreme right wing pressure, which is essentially illiterate about these matters, the department was forced to change its name. La Raza is derived from a broader concept called La Raza Cosmica, developed by Mexican educator, Jose Vasconcelos in 1925. The concept is the antithesis of racial purity: it alludes to the mixture of all the peoples and cultures of the world. 

These struggles harken back to the 1500s because the very same questions being asked and the very same determinations being made then are the ones now in play. Europeans could not understand or comprehend our existence. They debated whether we were human and had souls. The side that believed that we indeed were human officially won the debate. But they did not do so because they believed in our equality and our full humanity; they did so for the purpose of mass conversions. They believed that we had souls, but that they were in need of saving and they self-righteously assigned themselves this task. This in no way entitled us to be treated as full human beings with corresponding full human rights. 

Amazingly, those were the ones on our side. It is mind-boggling what the other side had in mind. Actually, those that lost the intellectual and spiritual debate, in the end, won the political debate, hence the legacy of 300 years of violent colonialism - which included land theft, slavery and other forms of forced labor, and codified exploitation, segregation and discrimination. 

The reason they believed that we needed our souls saved is because they also believed that we were uncivilized. And that's being kind; they actually believed we were demonic. That, essentially, is the same language of former state schools’ superintendent, Tom Horne. When he began his crusade against Raza Studies in 2006, it was he who invoked the idea that the department was outside of Western civilization. Perhaps to this day, he does not comprehend the ramifications of such a characterization. It was the very same judgment that permitted the violent colonization of this continent.  
Tom Horne at UA Law School

Purportedly, we were not human; we were not Christians, therefore those that came from the other side of the ocean, via the so-called doctrine of discovery, were entitled ownership of the land -  and our bodies and our souls were simply part of the spoils.  

To this day, that is what establishes their “legality,” and their “legal” claim to the land. This is how people from across the oceans became legal and those of us from here, from maiz-based cultures spanning many thousands of years, became sub human or at best, foreigners and illegitimate human beings. In today's lingo, “illegal” on our own lands. After more than 500 years, not content with owning the land, these pols are seemingly still laying claim to our bodies, our minds and our spirits… and apparently, also our souls. 

Little wonder why MAS teachers are not supposed to teach their own culture or history to our students. 

That's why the struggle is of epic proportions. That's why it involves both SB 1070 and HB 2281. For those who are not sure about what motivates Arizona's politicians, it is incumbent upon everyone to read former State Senate President Russell Pearce’s e-mails recently uncovered by the ACLU (http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2012-07-26/news/to-come/).

Dynamic duo: Pearce and Arpaio

People can also get a glimpse by keeping up with the racial profiling trial, featuring Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s communications at: (http://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/sheriff-arpaio-racial-profiling-illegal). Both leave a long trail and also leave no doubt as to what we are up against. Both believe that Mexican peoples are less than human.  

Of course, in their defense, they don't hate or target Mexicans and they don't hate or target immigrants; they only hate and target the “illegals”… the ones that just happen to look like Mexicans and Central Americans… the ones they see on street corners looking for work, in stores, at restaurants and at the parks. 

Hence, the question: when these politicians attempted to take us back into the 1500s, what did you do? 

My colleagues, professors at colleges and universities nationwide, and even more specifically, professors who teach ethnic studies and Chicana/Chicano studies, what did we do? 

Banned Books at Revolutionary Grounds Cafe in Tucson

Truthfully, this has not been an attack simply on Raza Studies, but instead, it has been an attack on the very idea of education. Restrict and prohibit classes and curricula and you wind up with Swiss cheese education. Students are free to learn everything that is not prohibited. Many people believe that this is about banned books. The reality is that it is much bigger; even beyond censorship: it is about the banning of a worldview. 

This is why the question of what we should do, has to be asked of every educator. It is not somebody else's issue; at the very core of this struggle is the battle over what it means to be human. Shall we permit government to pass laws reminiscent of the 1500s, when most people on this continent were considered less than human, less than equal and less deserving of their full human rights?  

One part of history that is unknown to most people throughout the country, even in Tucson itself, is that when the student group UNIDOS took over the school board in April of 2011 –in defense of Mexican American Studies – they invoked the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This was historic; it was their answer to both Mr. Horne and his successor, Mr. John Huppenthal. Outside of Western civilization indeed! 

How did the school board respond? How did TUSD superintendent, Dr. John Pedicone respond? Shamefully, is the best word that can be used. The following week, the TUSD responded with a massive police presence. It responded with police dogs, with sharpshooters, with a bomb squad, with a helicopter, with more than 100 police, including fully equipped riot police. Inside, seven women were arrested for attempting to speak, and outside students and community members were harassed, physically abused and beaten. To this day, there has never been an investigation and, to this day, the school board has not provided an explanation, nor has anyone been held accountable. 

Instead, supporters of MAS continue to be demonized, and of course, now MAS has been dismantled. 

And so we return to the question to my colleagues? What have they done? What have we done? 
It is not too late to answer the question; it is not too late to step forward in this struggle of epic proportions. Yes, we’ve done some, but we can do a lot more. The students notice. Many national organizations have denounced Arizona's state legislature and the governor for these backward state measures. Also recently, a conference was convened to lay the groundwork for expanding Raza Studies at the pre-K-12 level nationwide (RazaStudiesNow.com). 
Raza Studies Now Conf. in Santa Monica July 21, 2012

Yet, that question of what have we done should be asked not simply of my colleagues nationwide, but of everyone. What did we all do when the forces of ignorance attempted to take us back into the dark ages? 

And what of those from the community? They've been there, sometimes, but not always. Not like the students, not like the youths. When it has been time to defend the department and to defend the discipline, it has been the students that have stepped forward with their bodies, their minds and their spirits – the very essence of who they are – which is what is under attack.  

With my own eyes, I have seen the definition of courage in the eyes of students who have been beaten down, who have been told that their history is not worthy of being studied, that their culture is deficient, and that they are less than full human beings.  

I have seen the students literally beaten, I've seen them arrested and I have seen them at all-night vigils, march across the city, protest in front of the school board and inside the state building. I've seen them rally and I’ve seen them walkout. I've seen them at community forums; I've seen them step forward, when others stepped back or when others were conspicuously MIA. I've seen them run through the desert in 115-degree heat to deliver messages to the state superintendent, the state legislature and to the governor, and I've seen them eloquently address the Tucson school board. 
Through all this, I've seen them face hate and condescension and I've seen them ridiculed and demeaned. I’ve seen this in person and also in the media. I have seen the faces of dehumanization, but more importantly, in the students, I have seen the faces of courage…of coraje.  

These students have taught our Tucson community, and the world, the meaning not simply of resistance, but of creation-resistance. Their reality is not dependent upon reacting to the forces of hate, bigotry and ignorance. They’ve organized themselves. They’ve created their own school. They’ve trained themselves and they’ve secured their own organizing space. These several generations of students (Social Justice Education Project, UNIDOS and; MEChA) battle because they believe in their right to a relevant education. Many of them have long graduated from MAS and yet they continue to battle. Many say it is no longer for them, but for their younger brothers and sisters... and for their children. 

What has always been incredible is the way Dr. Pedicone and the school board have always treated them. Noting that they have already dismantled MAS, they often wonder, they often ask why the students and community keep coming back? 

Cesar Chavez once said that once you educate a person, you cannot un-educate them. 

This is why the students keep coming back. They know their history and they are fully aware of their human rights. That is why they invoked the 2007 UN declaration. They know who they are.  

The school board knows that the students are guided by the maiz-based ethos of: In Lak Ech -You are my other me. Contrary to what their detractors say, they have never been violent, precisely because of that ethos. But also, perhaps the school board and Dr. Pedicone are miffed by Panche Be-To seek the root of the Truth. It is not simply about seeking truth, but about critical education and seeking justice. That's why they don't go away. 

At the moment, there are many legal cases wending through the court system; both state measures continue to be challenged on constitutional grounds. Tragically one of the legal cases involves a $1 million lawsuit against two educators from Tucson’s MAS department: its former director, Sean Arce and teacher, Jose Gonzalez. 

It is a slap suit, without merit, designed to silence and intimidate those who battle to defend the now seemingly defunct MAS department. But as the students and community always tell the school board: long after they are gone, MAS will still be here. 
Gonzalez and Arce
This is why the question is asked; not what did others do, but what did you do? 

When Tom Horne said that MAS was outside of Western civilization, what did you do? When the school board shut down the department, what did you do? When the curriculum and the books were banned, what did you do? When MAS teacher, Norma Gonzalez was forced to take down the Aztec Calendar, what did you do? When the teachers were fired, what did you do? When they were sued, what did you do? 
Aztec Calendar Banned in Tucson


* There are several ways you can act. There is still time to attend Tucson’s Freedom Summer.  For info, go to: tucsonfreedomsummer.com. To learn more about and to assist the educators being sued, go to: http://tinyurl.com/RazaDefenseFund 

* UNIDOS can be reached at: unidostucson.wordpress.com and facebook! 

Rodriguez, an assistant professor in Mexican-American studies at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com - http://drcintli.blogspot.com/ or 520-271-6796

Monday, July 23, 2012

Raza Studies Now Conf July 21, 2012

Close to 150 attendees at Raza Studies Now Conference at Santa Monica College
Conf feature three panels and 7 breakout sessions

Working Conference to bring Raza Studies to S. Cal Schools


Tucson's Social Justice and UNIDOS students presented

One Topic was analysis of Occupied America by Carlos Maldona

After conf, attendees gathered at Pico Youth Center to support UNIDOS/SJEP students

Prior to conf, SJEP/UNIDOS met with L.A.'s Inner City Struggle

SJEP/UNIDOS/Inner City Struggle
SJEP/UNIDOS Presented at Tia Chucha's before heading home

The Raza Studies Now! Conference at Santa Monica College was a complete success, though it was not meant to be a one-time event. The objective of this conference was to emulate the 1969 Plan de Santa Barbara, which produced a blueprint for Chicano/Chicana Studies for colleges and universities nationwide.

The objective of the Raza Studies Now conference is to produce a brownprint for Raza Studies at the pre-K-12 level. As such, the tasks from the conference, the working groups will followup on the topics of the conference and will produce a document(s) to be helpful for the purposes of planting the seeds of Razza Studies nationwide.

The conference was also held to support Tucson's Raza Students and its students who have been battling in defense of Raza Studies since 2006 and to support Tucson's Freedom Summer: TucsonFreedomSummer.com

A followup to this conference will take place in Sept and Oct. (More shortly on this and the followups).

The continuing conference has a website at: RazaStudiesNow.com

UNIDOS can be reached at: Website: unidostucson.wordpress.com and facebook!

For more info, CONTACT: Elias Serna of Association of Mexican American Educators xicanoss@hotmail.com or 323–350–3548



Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
XColumn@gmail.com or 520-271-6796
http://drcintli.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Raza Studies Now! Conf. SMC July 21 & July 22



RAZA STUDIES NOW!
Raza Studies Now! Conference at Santa Monica College July 21 10am-3pm and 
Sun July 22 fundraiser event at Tia Chucha's in Sylmar CA 1-3pm


For those who cannot make it to Tucson for Freedom Summer (TucsonFreedomSummer.com), which continues for several more weeks, there is a Raza Studies Now Conference on Saturday at Santa Monica College in support of Tucson's MAS community, and in support of expanding Raza Studies nationwide. Information is at: RazaStudiesNow.com


WHAT: Raza Studies Now Conf.
WHERE: Santa Monica College, Humanities Room # 165

                FREE PARKING ON CAMPUS
WHEN: July 21: 10am-2pm

Who: Association of Mexican American Educators, Semillas del Pueblo, Wilson High MEChA, Pico Youth & Family Center,  (full listing on website)

INFO: RazaStudiesNow.com
CONTACT: Elias Serna of Association of Mexican American Educators xicanoss@hotmail.com or 323–350–3548

Join us in uniting teachers, students, and organizations around an effort to expand Raza and ethnic studies in LA High Schools specifically, but also nationwide. This conference will include panels on Raza Studies High School Instructors, Tucson Raza Studies Curriculum & Pedagogy featuring (UA) Social Justice and Education Project and (UA) UNIDOS students and Tucson (UA and TUSD) MAS Teachers (who will be present), Banned Books, Occupied America (author, Rodolfo Acuña will also be present), and Dreamers & Raza Studies.
The working conference is in support of Tucson's Mexican American studies department that was dismantled earlier this year. But it will also celebrate Santa Monica High School's recent adoption of Ethnic Studies into its curriculum.
Following the conference at SMC, there will be a Banned Book Exhibit at the nearby Pico Youth and Family Center 715 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, CA 90405 (310) 396-7101 at 5-7pm. This will be in conjunction with the presentation of the video docu-drama by UNIDOS titled: Banned! Burritos will be served. Watch this video clip to understand why we serve burritos:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-2-2012/tucson-s-mexican-american-studies-ban. It is a fundraiser for UNIDOS.
-----------------------------------
July 22 Event


SPECIAL SAN FERNANDO VALLEY FUNDRAISER EVENT
Tia Chucha's
13197 Gladstone Avenue  Sylmar, CA 91342

(818) 939-3433

Special Film Screening & Platica with UNIDOS and 
Social Justice students & alumni of MAS Tucson: 
"Banned."
Sunday, July 22, 2012 @ 1-3pm

Banned is a docu-comedy regarding the struggle to defend Mexican American studies in Tucson Arizona. Produced by UNIDOS, students who have been active in defending Tucson's Mexican American studies department. It will include a 20 min. video followed by 40 min. of discussion regarding the update on the situation.

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For info: XColumn@gmail.com or 520-271-6796
COLUMN: http://drcintli.blogspot.com/

Saturday, July 14, 2012

The Face of “Reasonable Suspicion”


The Face of “Reasonable Suspicion”
Arizona’s Freedom Summer Continues

Iconic images are those that stand the test of time and become engraved in our psyche. They freeze a moment and tell a story. They create truths and inform our memories. For instance, the intense human rights struggle in Arizona has managed to produce several powerful iconic images for our times.

One image that many people will not soon forget is that of Gov. Jan Brewer wagging her finger at President Barack Obama at the tarmac as he deplaned in Phoenix. It was the ultimate symbol of disrespect.

In modern U.S. history, planting the flag at Iwo Jima qualifies as an iconic image that captured the spirit of World War Two. The shooting of John F. Kennedy in 1963 provided a few images, ranging from him being shot, to Jacqueline Kennedy crawling over the car seats, to 3-year-old JFK Jr. saluting during the funeral. The landing on the moon in 1969 provided similar images that are with us to this day. Tiananmen Square in 1989 provided us with an image of a young man stopping the progress of a column of tanks in China. In 2001, the attacks on the twin towers produced many searing images that to this day affect the nation’s psyche.

Iconic images are usually reserved for momentous occasions and as such, Arizona, the land of political extremism, is also beginning to produce similar  imagery. Most people are familiar with the racial profiling SB 1070 state measure, a bill that has inspired copycat anti-immigrant legislation nationwide. The image of Brewer wagging her finger is related to SB 1070. The Supreme Court recently turned thumbs down on three of four measures before the court, while not striking down the 4th, section 2(B), the one provision that requires law enforcement officials to question the immigration status of people they have lawfully detained or arrested and whom they deem to be “reasonably suspect.” Despite this, this provision is not yet in effect.

While SB 1070 expressly prohibits racial profiling, many law enforcement officials are convinced that this provision cannot be implemented without racial profiling. Throughout the country, when one invokes the concept of reasonable suspicion in the context of immigration enforcement, chances are that brown skin and the use of the Spanish language comes to mind. Ironically, an image unrelated to SB 1070, actually highlights this very concept of “reasonable suspicion,” Arizona style.
“A reasonable suspect”
The photo is that of a child being subjected to a metal detector in the spring of 2012 at the entrance of a school board meeting in Tucson. 


Here, controversy has swirled regarding the anti-Ethnic Studies HB 2281. That this child would be considered potentially dangerous tells us that either common sense has left Arizona, or this officer believes that this child is capable of bringing in a weapon, and thus, "Reasonably suspicious."

If this child can be considered a danger at a school board meeting, what can we expect out on the streets? If the SB 1070 2(b) provision survives the courts, all law enforcement officers will be required to make a decision everytime they make a lawful stop as to who constitutes a “reasonable suspect.”

In the realm of theory, no citizen or lawful resident will be inconvenienced, nor will anyone's civil rights be violated. Yet, the concept of “driving while Black or Brown” is a reality of life and a good indication that regardless of intent, the historic experience of brown people with immigration authorities informs us that racial profiling has always been practiced.

In Arizona, brown skin and the Spanish language constitute reasonable suspicion. People of color nationwide understand this. And yet amazingly, those who are not subject to racial profiling, insist that this dehumanizing phenomenon does not exist. Or they insist that as long as the effort is aimed at capturing criminals or people who don't belong in this country, then that is but a minor inconvenience.

It is true that Arizona is a little different than the rest of the country; here SB 1070 targets the body, whereas HB 2281 targets the mind. HB 2281 criminalizes thinking and the teaching of Mexican-American history and culture and it, in effect, outlaws the teaching of an indigenous worldview.
Some 20 riot-equipped officers arrest elder Lupe Castillo at May 3, 2011 Tucson School Board meeting for reading MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham”
Truly, Arizona is burning and has become the new South (the Old South on these matters remains the Old South). Its politicians are determined to keep it in the 19th century.  Contrarily, freedom riders have been converging on Arizona all summer to extinguish the fires of hatred and dehumanization, determined, once and for all, to bury the concept of “reasonable suspects.”
Young Tucson High School student tossed in air by Tucson police officer at May 3 Tucson School Board meeting. No investigation has been conducted or made public regarding the massive police presence that night.
For information regarding Tucson’s Freedom Summer, go to: Tucsonfreedomsummer.com
Also, On July 21, Freedom Summer, West Coast Edition, will be celebrated in S. Cal at Santa Monica College. For more info, go to: RazaStudiesNow.com. Or please write/call: Elias Serna of Association of Mexican American Educators: xicanoss@hotmail.com or 323-350-3548.


Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com - http://drcintli.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Ethnic Studies comes to Santa Monica High School

Santa Monica Daily Press
BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD
Daily Press Staff Writer

SMMUSD HDQTRS Santa Monica High School officials are building an ethnic stud- ies program at the school as part of an ongo- ing attempt to improve relations between the racial groups on campus and achieve- ment rates amongst minority students.

For rest of story, go to: http://www.smdp.com/pdf/070612.pdf

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tucson’s Historic Freedom Summer & The Popol Vuh


Tucson’s Historic Freedom Summer & The Popol Vuh
By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez

On the way to Tucson’s Freedom Summer, I’m driving with a few friends. We speak of several topics and at one point, someone laments that over the past several years, former state school’s superintendent, Tom Horne, his successor, John Huppenthal along with TUSD superintendent, John Pedicone, had managed to bury Tucson’s highly praised and highly successful Mexican American Studies (MAS) department.

That statement froze me in my tracks. Yet, immediately, an image came to my mind.

“Yes,” I said. “…Just like in the Popol Vuh.”

The Popol Vuh is the ancient creation story of the Quiche Maya, which tells the story of the creation of the universe, maiz, and human beings.

In that ancient creation story, at a certain point, the Hero Twins outsmart the Lords of Xibalba. One of the twins, Xblanque, cuts off the head of the other twin, Hunaphu and buries it, and then Hunaphu promptly comes back to life. Impressed, several of the Lords demand that they too get their heads chopped off and buried. The twins comply, but do not bury their heads. The story is complex, but in the end, burying the heads represents the planting of maiz.

In Tucson, the story, in effect, is in reverse. The state and the TUSD governing board have buried MAS, and rather than die, it is now sprouting everywhere nationwide.

This is part of the story of Tucson’s Freedom Summer. People from across the country are gathering daily. But the more remarkable part of the story is that people are going back, or will be going back, to plant the seeds. Soon, educators will be proposing to their own local school boards to implement MAS at elementary, middle schools and high schools.

It is an awesome story unfolding before our very eyes. And in a sense, this is the second time this is being playing out. The 1st time occurred in 1969 via El Plan de Santa Barbara. At that historic gathering, the seeds were planted and soon thereafter, hundreds of Chicano/Chicana studies programs, centers and departments sprouted on college campuses and universities nationwide. Actually, unbeknownst to most people, this discipline sprouted worldwide, from Mexico to Europe and Asia.
To their chagrin, this very same process is now beginning to take place at K-12 schools nationwide. Rather than bury Raza studies, they have and are actually contributing to the reenactment of that cosmic drama.

Amazingly, by eliminating MAS this year, another historic drama is also being reenacted. When the TUSD governing board complied with the state’s anti-Ethnic Studies HB 2281 in January of this year, purportedly because MAS teaches hate, promotes segregation and the overthrow of the government, the board did not simply eliminate a department, they did not simply ban a curriculum, its books and accompanying teaching materials. What they actually did was attempt to outlaw a worldview – a worldview that literally is related to the Popol Vuh. 

Mr. Horne and his supporters have long insisted that the MAS curriculum is outside of Western civilization. In their own definition, they are correct. MAS does not owe its roots to Greco-Roman culture, but rather to the ancient Indigenous maiz culture of this very continent.

Aside from the fact that the MAS department was highly successful, it should be an honor for Tucson and the state to be able to showcase the accomplishments of MAS. Tucson is no stranger to maiz; it is purportedly the home of the oldest (some 4,000 years) surviving cornfield in the United States, on the corner of Silver Bell and Ina. The state of New Mexico, at Bat Cave, is the site of the oldest corncob ever found in the United States, purportedly close to 6,000 years old.

Thus, there is nothing foreign about maiz; it is one of the ultimate symbols of the story of this continent.

In that spirit, as a community, we invite the detractors to cease being detractors. And we invite everyone to come to Tucson's Freedom Summer and learn what thousands of students have already learned. In that spirit, as a community, we offer you the words of In Lak’ Ech, which also come to us from the Maya, an ethos taught to our students:

In lak' Ech 
Tú eres mi otro yo.
Si te hago daño a ti
Me hago daño a mí mismo.
Sí te amo y respeto,
Me amo y respeto yo.
You are my other me.
If I do harm to you,
I do harm to myself.
If I love and respect you,
I love and respect myself.


* For information regarding freedom summer, which will run through mid-August, go to: tucsonfreedomsummer.com

Follow this link to learn of the attacks against former MAS director, Sean Arce and former MAS teacher, Jose Gonzalez:
http://mexmigration.blogspot.com/2012/06/sean-arce-and-jose-gonzalez-attacked-by.html

Rodriguez, an assistant professor in the Mexican American Studies department at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com - http://drcintli.blogspot.com/