Civilization Burning in Arizona

What the repugs and freakazoids are doing in Arizona - and Virginia, and Alabama, and South Carolina - goes far beyond reversing the Great Society, beyond reversing the New Deal, beyond reversing the Enlightenment, beyond reversing the Renaissance, all the way to seeking the pure barbarism of the hordes who destroyed an entire continent's store of knowledge to usher in the Dark Ages.

Deep inside a long philosophical treatise by Henry Giroux at Truthout, we find this:

Two recent events in Arizona provide flagrant examples of what might be called the emergence of a virulent racism in the service of repressive educational policies and cultural practices fueled by anti-democratic and authoritarian interests. The first event involves the banning of ethnic studies as a result of the passage of Arizona House Bill 2281, which forbids public schools, as well as charter schools, in the state from offering courses that "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government," "promote resentment toward a race or class of people," "are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group" or "advocate for ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals." Crafted at a time when Arizona is at the forefront of a number of states in enacting a right-wing offensive that produces anti-immigrant and anti-Latino opinions, sentiments, and policies, the law was designed not only to provide political caché for Arizona conservatives seeking political office, but also to impose regulations "which [would] dismantle the state's popular Mexican-American/Raza Studies programs."

In one highly popularized incident, the current Tea Party conservative Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Huppenthal - making good on an earlier claim that he would "stop la raza" - notified the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) that, as a result of the new law banning ethnic studies, the popular Mexican-American studies program was in violation of the ban and TUSD would lose $15 million in annual state aid unless it was terminated. The program was eventually eliminated in spite of the fact that it was credited "with reducing dropout rates, discipline problems, poor attendance and failure rates among Latino Students."

The attack on ethnic studies was soon followed with a decision by the TUSD board to ban a number of books associated with this field of study. The list of removed books, in some cases literally taken out of the hands of crying students, includes classic texts such as "Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years," published by Rethinking Schools; "Occupied America: A History of Chicanos," by Rodolfo Acuna, and the internationally acclaimed "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," by Paulo Freire. In an attempt to eliminate any texts or class units where "race, ethnicity and oppression are central themes," the TUSD board also banned Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest."

What is important to note about the book-banning structure is that it applies to a school district not only founded by a Mexican-American, but also one in which more than 60 percent of the students are from a Mexican-American background. As author Jeff Biggers suggested, the racism at work in this form of "book burning" is not so hidden in that "the administration also removed every textbook dealing with Mexican-American history, including "Chicano!: The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement ," by Arturo Rosales, which features a biography of longtime Tucson educator Salomon Baldenegro. Other books removed from the school include "500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures," by Elizabeth Martinez, and the textbook "Critical Race Theory" by scholars Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic."

There is more at work in the attack on ethnic studies and the banning of books considered dangerous to children in the Arizona schools than the rise of Tea Party politics and specific acts of censorship (this would be a typical liberal interpretation of these events). There is also the emergence of deeper structures of a systemic racism and the increasing mobilization of neoliberal ideology to justify the ongoing attacks on people of color, immigrants and those considered other by virtue of their class and ethnicity.

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Even worse is when racism is disavowed, yet appears in another guise through a language of punishment that persecutes and demonizes anyone who even raises the charge of racism. For instance, As writer and Censored News publisher Brenda Norrell makes clear:

students ... protesting the elimination of the [Tucson School] district's Mexican-American studies program, have - without a hearing - been directed to perform janitorial duties this Saturday: an amazing message, right out of Newt Gingrich's playbook (he has been campaigning in the GOP presidential nomination race, proposing the idea that students should be hired as janitors to teach them a work ethic). Apparently, TUSD administrators are paying attention.

Meanwhile, many of the institutions that deal with youth - schools, juvenile detention centers and the criminal justice system - continue to adopt punishment strategies instead of addressing systemic racism. This is evident, for example, in the rise of zero-tolerance policies in schools - which disproportionately punish African-American youth - but is also evident in many routine disciplinary practices.

The fear is that ethnic studies can be taught in ways that provide a critical reading of history, power, ideas and institutional mappings. This is viewed as dangerous by conservatives and white supremacists because classroom learning can be used to expose specific modes of racial exclusion, class inequalities, and the ongoing punishing and silencing of the voices of young people. What many of the newly elected Tea Party ideologues recognize is that critical pedagogy has the power to challenge persistent racial injustice in the United States. More importantly, they fear the role that such a pedagogy can play in empowering minority students to become informed citizens who might exercise their rights by changing the fundamental institutions and power structures that affect their lives.