Former Arizona School's Chief Nonsensically Invokes specter of KKK

by Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez

Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne made a comeback appearance in federal court on Monday, arguing before U.S. Circuit Judge A. Wallace Tashima, the validity of the state’s anti-Ethnic Studies HB 2281 measure.

The occasion was a motion to invalidate HB 2281 by the Acosta plaintiffs. Whereas the original 11 educators were ruled not to have standing, the lawsuit remains in standing via 3 students.

In court, Horne put forth a bizarre theory, arguing that Tucson’s Mexican American Studies department was little different if the KKK had created it. This was bizarre in two ways; it was Horne himself, as the former Arizona Schools Chief, who led the crusade to eliminate the MAS department, helping to write a series of bills that culminated with the signing of HB 2281. Much of the arguments against the MAS-TUSD department has come from well-known and unapologetic bigots that could hardly pass for educators or human rights activists. The allusion to the KKK is mind-boggling, though it is not a new argument; Horne has claimed that it was Martin Luther King Jr. who inspired him and who has guided him in his effort to dismantle Tucson’s MAS department.

Bernard Lafayette, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a former freedom rider, has repeatedly denounced Horne in Tucson for his misuse of MLK Jr’s beliefs and legacy.

Look for similar denunciations from the nation’s African American community as a result of Horne’s attempt to link Mexican American Studies with both the KKK and Nazi Germany. He made allusions to both in court, arguing that the motion to dismiss HB 2281 should be ignored. 

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