Books are an important part of my personal and professional life. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if there was not a supply of books for me to borrow to read. I have spent a nice portion of my personal income to feed my need to read appetite.
It is difficult for me to accept limitations on what type of materials I can select to read. When I attended public school a lot of the required reading materials were dictated to us by the school board. Those stories were not necessarily poor choices for my generation of students. But there were very few titles that actually had people of color as the main characters of the stories or information.
That began to change for the better during the Black Power Movement. A literature bomb was unleashed and we were able to acquire books on a variety of subjects that were of interest to Black people. This made reading a lot more interesting and relevant to me as a person.
In Arizona there is a law that has been passed which forbids ethnic studies in the state's public school system.
A.R.S. § 15-112 which prohibits courses and classes that 'promote the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals,' according to the Arizona State Legislature.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087667/Shakespeares-The-Tempest-banned-Arizona-schools-law-bans-ethnic-studies.html#ixzz1kG2eD9Pm
This ban is supposed to make the Mexican American population feel more connected to this nation's theories about democracy.
I see it as just another act of cultural theft. A group of people who are guided by their fear are using their power to remove something that they deem anti their perspectives.
The course of study that is approved does not include any perspectives that are different than the ones the law makers feel comfortable with holding up as sound principles.
How a person interprets what they read is based on a whole lot of factors. What may seem to anti-the status quo may be the same line of thought that another person has about should change to improve the society. That depends on your cultural ties, economic factors and how your ideas on a particular subject was developed prior to reading a book.
One of the objections about the type of books that were used is the perspectives that they present.
This is one of the books that has been banned. The problem is this book teaches Latino youth that they are still oppressed by a Caucasian majority.
This book was also banned.
These rules are supposed to make things feel more comfortable among the students. By banning the idea that ethnic groups should not promote solidarity as a part of their coursework.
This is a list of the books that were removed:
It must be noted that James Baldwin's classic The Fire the
Next Time and works by Howard Zinn have also been
removed from the schools.
In order to be in full compliance with this ban teachers
must also turn in their books. Remove posters and any
materials that do not align with the new policies. In other
words if it does not reflect the views of the mainstream
culture then it has no place in the classroom.
I cannot support the banning or burning of books. It is an
act that denotes fear is winning over the need for truth
and information.
I am sure that there are people who will put up the
argument that we cannot be Americans with this type of
information being exposed to the people who need to
understand what has happened from a historical
perspective. Without presenting the wider scope of facts
the reasons why we are connected make no sense. We
should want to celebrate the reasons for our ancestors
pain and suffering? That does not make sense from our
perspective. Not to know what role racism has played in
the relationships between different people is a form of
denial that is not acceptable. It is the insistence that only
one side be presented that is the problem.
Censored News and Consortium News have articles on their
sites that provides information on what has happened to
the children since this ban has become educational policy.
This situation is not a done deal. Efforts are currently
underway to oppose the banning of the books.
The group of banned books are truly powerful in their
content. This struggle to open up education and allow the
truth to be a part of the curriculum is not solely confined
to Arizona. As efforts continue to revise the national story
and exclude individuals or actions that do not reflect the
real nature of nation building will be re-written in the
manner that makes the story one that reads in the
tradition of half truths and no honest admissions of
actions.
The very actions forwarded by the Arizona legislature may
be the start of the very situation that they think is being
contained. Books hold ideas and information. It is the
person who uses those ideas that their real target. If no
information is supplied then those ideas don't develop. But
this is historically inaccurate as well. Revolts have
happened because people grow tired of being pressed
down in circumstances and situations. That is when the
oral story of what happened begins to circulate within
groups and communities.
If you think that the issues people of color deal with are
going to be tamped out without any recognition of their
existence then you need to do some research on the topic
of why we feel like we do about being American. It is not
all negative but we also know how to provide some of the
needed healing and perspectives that the mainstream
wants us to avoid using.
It is difficult for me to accept limitations on what type of materials I can select to read. When I attended public school a lot of the required reading materials were dictated to us by the school board. Those stories were not necessarily poor choices for my generation of students. But there were very few titles that actually had people of color as the main characters of the stories or information.
That began to change for the better during the Black Power Movement. A literature bomb was unleashed and we were able to acquire books on a variety of subjects that were of interest to Black people. This made reading a lot more interesting and relevant to me as a person.
In Arizona there is a law that has been passed which forbids ethnic studies in the state's public school system.
A.R.S. § 15-112 which prohibits courses and classes that 'promote the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals,' according to the Arizona State Legislature.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087667/Shakespeares-The-Tempest-banned-Arizona-schools-law-bans-ethnic-studies.html#ixzz1kG2eD9Pm
This ban is supposed to make the Mexican American population feel more connected to this nation's theories about democracy.
I see it as just another act of cultural theft. A group of people who are guided by their fear are using their power to remove something that they deem anti their perspectives.
The course of study that is approved does not include any perspectives that are different than the ones the law makers feel comfortable with holding up as sound principles.
How a person interprets what they read is based on a whole lot of factors. What may seem to anti-the status quo may be the same line of thought that another person has about should change to improve the society. That depends on your cultural ties, economic factors and how your ideas on a particular subject was developed prior to reading a book.
One of the objections about the type of books that were used is the perspectives that they present.
This book was also banned.
This is a list of the books that were removed:
- Suzan Shown Harjo's "We Have No Reason to Celebrate"
- Buffy Sainte-Marie's "My Country, 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying"
- Joseph Bruchac's "A Friend of the Indians"
- Cornel Pewewardy's "A Barbie-Doll Pocahontas"
- N. Scott Momaday's "The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee"
- Michael Dorris's "Why I'm Not Thankful for Thanksgiving"
- Leslie Marmon's "Ceremony"
- Wendy Rose's "Three Thousand Dollar Death Song"
- Winona LaDuke's "To the Women of the World: Our Future, Our Responsibility"s (Narcosphere, 2012)
It must be noted that James Baldwin's classic The Fire the
Next Time and works by Howard Zinn have also been
removed from the schools.
In order to be in full compliance with this ban teachers
must also turn in their books. Remove posters and any
materials that do not align with the new policies. In other
words if it does not reflect the views of the mainstream
culture then it has no place in the classroom.
I cannot support the banning or burning of books. It is an
act that denotes fear is winning over the need for truth
and information.
I am sure that there are people who will put up the
argument that we cannot be Americans with this type of
information being exposed to the people who need to
understand what has happened from a historical
perspective. Without presenting the wider scope of facts
the reasons why we are connected make no sense. We
should want to celebrate the reasons for our ancestors
pain and suffering? That does not make sense from our
perspective. Not to know what role racism has played in
the relationships between different people is a form of
denial that is not acceptable. It is the insistence that only
one side be presented that is the problem.
Censored News and Consortium News have articles on their
sites that provides information on what has happened to
the children since this ban has become educational policy.
This situation is not a done deal. Efforts are currently
underway to oppose the banning of the books.
The group of banned books are truly powerful in their
content. This struggle to open up education and allow the
truth to be a part of the curriculum is not solely confined
to Arizona. As efforts continue to revise the national story
and exclude individuals or actions that do not reflect the
real nature of nation building will be re-written in the
manner that makes the story one that reads in the
tradition of half truths and no honest admissions of
actions.
The very actions forwarded by the Arizona legislature may
be the start of the very situation that they think is being
contained. Books hold ideas and information. It is the
person who uses those ideas that their real target. If no
information is supplied then those ideas don't develop. But
this is historically inaccurate as well. Revolts have
happened because people grow tired of being pressed
down in circumstances and situations. That is when the
oral story of what happened begins to circulate within
groups and communities.
If you think that the issues people of color deal with are
going to be tamped out without any recognition of their
existence then you need to do some research on the topic
of why we feel like we do about being American. It is not
all negative but we also know how to provide some of the
needed healing and perspectives that the mainstream
wants us to avoid using.
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