The Case for Arizona's Ethnic Studies Law

By now I'm sure most of you have heard of Arizona's latest "WTF legislation," banning ethnic studies classes and English teachers with accents. I won't get into the English teachers with accents in this post other than to say, what the hell does that even really mean? Can Southerners no longer teach English? People from England? Canadians? What exactly constitutes "unaccented" English?

But I want to talk about the ethnic studies ban which states that schools will lose funding if they support ethnic studies classes in their curriculum because the creators of this law think such classes will cause people to overthrow the government. Also they do not want classes to "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals." This point is particularly boggling to me, because I was previously unaware that "treating pupils as individuals" and "promoting solidarity with ethnic groups" were mutually exclusive.

(Sarcasm approaching...)
And you know what, maybe Arizona has the right idea. I must admit that I was not exposed to ethnic studies classes until college, and look how well I turned out. (Ok, that's a lie, I took a class on Native American culture in HS, but that was barely enlightening or revolutionary). I was not aware of the many injustices the US participates in at the expense of other cultures, and as a consequence I just did my work and played the good little student role, regurgitating the white history of the world in my classes, not questioning anything.

And then Amado Lascar and Amanda Harris came into my life. Now, as far as Amado's Spanish class was concerned, it was more focused on the literature of Mexico, Central and South America than US foreign policy or exposing aforementioned injustices. But he did introduce me to voices in literature that are often undervalued and left in the margins, voices that do criticize the colonial legacy in Latin America from the conquest until today. But Amanda Harris' class, "Ethnicity in the Americas" really opened my eyes. I would even go as far as to divide my life into before and after taking that class.

When I say this entry is a case for this new law, it is my tongue-in-cheek way of saying that ethnic studies classes can and do make a difference, they change people. I can see Arizona and a racist, conservative government in general being very frightened by the power that these classes can wield. It is no wonder that this happened when we see that conservatives in Texas also want to keep real information from getting into the impressionable and pliable minds of the nation's youth. If a smart cookie like me is introduced to ideas that expose the seedy underbelly of the US, we might turn out to work against the wrongful actions of the government. It is really a loss to conservatives in the US when students become aware of their wrong-doings. Although I was never really pro-America, even before the ethnic studies class because when I finally became interested and aware of politics, Bush was president for 8 years and it doesn't take a strong liberal lean to recognize the evil promulgated under his regime.

What I am saying here is that those of us who are appalled by this newest legislation should not take the path of denying the influence of ethnic studies classes. These classes do have the power to influence people and change lives, and that is something that conservatives fear. I am not one to make an argument that they do not change people's opinions of capitalism, the United States, or hegemonic powers in general, because that is what they have done for me. But as a person who embraces a post/de-colonial paradigm, I know how important these classes are to raising awareness to new perspectives, the perspectives of the marginalized whose voices have been silenced throughout History.

I was hoping we were finally in agreement within the walls of educational institutions that a new history needs to emerge, a new story needs to sound out in contrast to the white noise of History we have been exposed to our entire lives. No one should fear that the US will be demonized completely throughout social studies curricula, because the overwhelming majority of such classes are staunchly pro-US, look at colonization as a good thing, and look at events (such as the "discovery of America") through the eyes of dead white men. Even new textbooks are preserving this paradigm. The old way is not going anywhere. But the option to learn of a new perspective and take a new path is vital to the future of this nation.

I keep waiting for the turnover, for the day that these old, racist assholes are no longer in the majority in charge of things such as text books, education funding and dare I say, the government. I don't want to lose hope that things are slowly changing for the better, but when legislation such as that in Arizona is passed, I lose just a little hope that things are actually changing. When my family verbalizes their bigotry, I just try to tell myself that most people don't think that way. Unfortunately that is not always the case. But I won't lose hope because I see a lot of smart individuals doing a lot of good for the world and those who are marginalized. I hope that as the aforementioned old racist assholes die off, they will be replaced by these more enlightened individuals.