Save Ethnic Studies Tour

For the past four years, Arizona Superintendent of Public Schools,

Tom Horne, and the Arizona State Legislature have relentlessly attacked the Tucson Unified School District’s (TUSD) Mexican American Studies Department (MASD). Tom Horne and the Arizona State Legislature have accused that Mexican American Studies classes are: “promoting the overthrow of the United States Government; promoting resentment toward a race or class of people; designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group; and advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals ”

Tues. March 8.  University Union.  Sac State.   12 Noon.  Orchard Suite.

                          6 PM.  Sol Collective.  Sacramento

This past May 11, 2010, AZ Governor Jan Brewer, signed into law AZ HB 2281, the anti-Ethnic Studies law, which will in effect eliminate TUSD’s MASD on December 31, 2010. A major provision of the law calls for a 10% withholding of the State of Arizona’s monthly allotment to TUSD if MASD continues to teach Chicano Studies classes.  After exhausting our efforts through lobbying, community activism, and public relations, we are left with no other option than to file a federal injunction in the Federal District Court in Arizona to stop AZ HB 2281.

Eleven Critical Raza Educators have formed a campaign “Save Ethnic Studies”.  The Raza Studies educators will serve, independently from TUSD, as a collective of plaintiffs in filing an injunction in Federal District Court to stop AZ HB 2281 from going into effect. This legal effort will require an enormous amount of financial and human resources in order to be effective in legally challenging AZ HB 2281. As a consequence, we will be embarking on a national fundraising campaign to raise consciousness and resources for our “Save Ethnic Studies” Defense Fund to defeat AZ HB 2281.