Wednesday, February 1, 2012

February 1, 2012 

Teacher Activist Groups (TAG) invites you to participate in No History is Illegal: A Campaign to Save our Stories, a month of solidarity teach-ins in support of Tucson's Mexican American Studies (MAS) program. Right-wing Arizona politicians recently banned the teaching of Mexican American Studies. In the month of February, strike back against this attack on our history by teaching lessons from and about the banned MAS program. On the No History is Illegal website you will find a guide that includes sample lesson plans from the MAS curriculum as well as creative ideas and resources for exploring this issue with students. Whatever happens in Arizona, we can keep the ideas and values of MAS alive by teaching about them in our classrooms, our community centers, our houses of worship, our homes. 

TAG is launching this campaign today because February 1 is the first day on which Tucson schools must comply with this law. It is also the first day of African American History Month. And as Dr. King warned us, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” What is happening in Arizona is not only a threat to Mexican American Studies, it is a threat to our right to teach the experiences of all people of color, LGBT people, poor and working people, the undocumented, people with disabilities and all those who are least powerful in this country.
Our history is not illegal. Please join us by pledging your support.

1 comment:

  1. Dr. Alyssa Hadley DunnFebruary 3, 2012 at 8:19 AM

    Message from Dr. Alyssa Hadley Dunn at Georgia State:

    I have been vigorously planning a teach-in in response to the ethnic studies ban in Arizona. We are streaming it live, so you can watch from anywhere or see a recording later. The event is next Saturday, February 4th from 11-2. We're having virtual guest speakers, including Tucson teachers and students, banned authors, and a writer from the Huffington Post who's covered the whole issues from the beginning of the legislation. I would love for you to "attend" or pass this on to anyone who is interested.

    Link to the teach-in:
    > http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tucson-teach-in1

    ReplyDelete

Agree? Disagree? Let me hear from you.