Cultural Education Is NOT a Crime 10/14/2020

In the documentary, Precious Knowledge, viewers are confronted with the startling statistic that 48 percent of Mexican American students drop out of high school. Many of these students leave school feeling that the education system was stacked against them and that they have been ignored and subjected to benign neglect. In an effort to offset the number of dropouts the documentary states: “In 1997, community activism led the Tucson city council to set up a study committee to look at ways of boosting Latino student achievement and reducing dropout rates. Based on its findings, the school board unanimously voted to create what was then called the Hispanic Studies Department” This name was later changed to Raza. The program was intended to present students with greater opportunities in life. One teacher of the program José Gonzales makes an analogy with an Indigenous concept called Chinacle. Plant a seed and it will grow. 

By 2010, despite the fact that students became engaged, informed, and active in their 

communities, and that 93 percent of graduated with 83 percent continuing on to college, 

opposition to the program had grown. Public officials and the school board pushed to end the program claiming that it promoted resentment toward a race or class of people or advocated for ethnic solidarity instead of treating people as individuals. With this sentiment, lawmakers sought to blame the students and the program for creating a divide between themselves and their white counterparts. Dr. Tricia Rose would attribute this stance to Structural Racism. White men were looking for explanations for their own past indiscretions, or even retribution, for desegregation in schools. Superintendent Tom Horne claimed that he was only trying to stand up for what Martin Luther King had once stated, that he wanted his son to be judged by the quality of his character not the color of his skin. In reality, it is more likely that he was offended by the fact that elements from his heritage were not prominently displayed in Raza classrooms. This is evidenced by his comment about replacing images of Chavez and others, with images of Benjamin Franklin and other founding fathers.

Another instance of Structural Racism in this documentary is brought to light by another Raza teacher who states "They are using 2nd-grade children of color data to determine the number of prisons they are going to need in the future." This statement echos the ideas of Alice Goffman who believes that schools are priming some kids for college, and others for prison. As of December 31st 2010, Arizona lawmakers passed HB 2281 banning ethnic studies in schools altogether. By doing so, they were helping to ensure that they would be able to fill prison vacancies because, without these classes, more students would drop out. This limits student opportunities and potentially sets them up to engage in crime out of need. 

In 2017 a federal judge struck down HB 2281 after a seven-year legal battle. Today, California is making ethnic studies a college requirement and many feel Arizona should do the same for both high school and college. Ethnic Studies Should Be A Graduation Requirement

In "La conciencia de la mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness," Gloria Anzaldúa builds an argument to refute the philosophy perpetuated by Jose Vasconcelos that through the mixing of different bloodlines, there will eventually be one mestizo race made up of people who have inherited only the best qualities of individual races through natural selection. This viewpoint is seen through the lens of a biological reality, and not a social construct. In contrast, Anzaldúa conveys her passion for perceiving and centering on one's own Indigenous heritage, rather than distancing from it. This framework is founded through the social and cultural experience of existing at the borderland between Mexico and the United States. 

In the section titled By Your True Faces We Will Know You, Anzaldúa states "I am visible- see this Indian face- yet I am invisible. I both blind them with my beak nose and am their blind spot. But I exist, we exist. They would like to think that I have melted in the pot. But I haven't, we haven't." For me, this statement is reminiscent of Michael Dumas' recollection of an issue of National Geographic which celebrated "the changing face of America". The idea of the article was that race will no longer be black and white, and it represented an idealized future where Americans would be so mixed that race would become meaningless. The NG article maintained that “perhaps we’ll be forced to reconsider existing definitions of race and identity, presumptions about who is us and who is them” I believe that Anzaldúa would reject this ideal of who American's want to be, and advocate for Indigenous groups to be allowed to fully be themselves. Anzaldúa further states "The dominant white culture is killing us slowly with its ignorance. By taking away our self-determination, it has made us weak and empty. "Through this quote, I am reminded of lyrics from a new song released this past Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day by a band named Portugal, The Man (PTM). The song "Who's Gonna Stop Me? (when there is no one there to stop me but me)" contains the following chorus.

Sneaking out, jumping over backyard fences, sneaking out jumping over backyard fences, we're all just looking for freedom. I got an appetite for livin' but this world is going to eat me alive.

Known for their activism and spending several years doing land acknowledgments on four different continents, the lead singer of PTM, John Gourley, had this to say about the song. "This song is about fences and what they represent. They say that barbed wire was the death of the cowboy. The end of open range and pastures colonists came and sectioned up the land and we, along with our ancestors, continued to do that." Through the song's video, Indigenous artists are supplied with the opportunity to have their voices heard. A notable sentiment perpetuated is to weaponize privilege. That is to use the term privilege to instigate self-reflection, to recognize the advantages one holds and how they cause adverse outcomes for populations of color. Another message presented in this video is to fight the patriarchy. I believe Anzaldua would approve of the sentiments the artists selected to participate in this video share. To view the video for this song, click the link below. I recommend taking a moment to pause the screen to read the thoughts of the artists when they appear.