Just minutes before the Tucson Unified School district was set to sell out the Ethnic Studies program district wide several brave and courageous students said ya basta! In an inspiring takeover at the Tucson Unified School District board meeting last Tuesday, Ethnic Studies/Mexican American Studies (MAS) students effectively dismantled the School board by assuming their seats and chaining themselves to the board members chairs.
The main agenda item of the day was to be the capitulation by the Tucson School Board of the Ethnic Studies Program. Student leaders from UNIDOS (United Non-discriminatory Individuals Demanding Our Studies) boldly took the chairs normally assigned for School Board members and chained themselves and began an intense and uplifting rally to protect their Ethnic Studies program. Chanting “When education is under attack, what do we do? Fight back.” Soon the students were joined by hundreds of students, teachers, community supporters and family inside the board meeting.
After about 30 minutes the regularly scheduled School Board meeting was cancelled with an announcement that the meeting would be rescheduled for the following week in a larger facility with more security. No arrests were made as the students held the ground and called for reinforcements. Students were asked to text their friends to come down and support. Soon droves of supporters chanted outside jubilantly as band music by students created a well deserved festive environment.
In 2010, just days after the passage of the more heavily covered SB 1070 Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law HB 2281. HB 2281 effectively banned the Tucson School District’s highly successful Raza Studies program. Over the past two years, the Ethnic Studies Program at the Tucson School District has been targeted by current Attorney General Tom Horne and former State School Superintendent. Students Horne has been hot (no pun intended) to shut down the program after several of students in those classes organized against HR4437, the draconian Congressional Anti-immigrant bill in 2006. During a rally at a local school students invited Labor activists Dolores Huerta who denounced the Republican Party to Horne’s chagrin. Since then Horne has vowed to silence the students by silencing the program.
The Sound Strike is proud to have been a supporter of UNIDOS and the Save Ethnic Studies campaign. To learn more visit http://saveethnicstudies.org/our_story.shtml/ or http://unidostucson.wordpress.com/.
Watch the up close video of the student action and some key interviews that tell the larger story.
Ethnic-studies-FINAL by Ernesto Arce KPFK News
