Oh, Arizona, you sure are giving Florida a run for it's money in terms of most backward state. Beyond it's immigration reform, the state has an effective ban on ethnic studies since 2010.
Fast forward to 2015. The Rage Against the Machine song "Take the Power Back" is being taught in Tucson's Cholla High Magnet School curriculum as part of a lesson on Mexican-American history. An essay from hip hop legend KRS-One is also being taught.
When word got back to state superintendent of public education John Huppenthal, he was none too pleased. He claims the song and letter "promote the overthrow of the United States government" and "promote resentment toward a race or class of people." He sent a note of noncompliance to the school district's chief saying the song defies the ethnic studies law, which reads like it was pulled from an '80s PMRC trial:
"I am deeply concerned by the fact that the noncompliance appears to extend beyond classes taught from the Mexican-American perspective and now also includes classes taught from the African-American perspective," Huppenthal said in a statement, adding that he wants "students, regardless of their race or ethnic background, [to] have access to a high quality education." He also wrote, "In issuing this finding before classes resume, I am hopeful that the district will take immediate action to comply with the law."
Tom Morello took to Twitter to comment on the matter:
“@Jakov_10: AZ school under fire for teaching about hip-hop, RATM lyrics http://t.co/q2vkonR0bC” It's only dangerous if u teach it right
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) January 3, 2015
The teacher in question, Corey Jones tells Rolling Stone he has no plans to stop teaching the course:
"Arizona's becoming a more fascist state," he says. "When you're banning and censoring material, for a state that proclaims local control, for a state that proclaims so much freedom – and yet in Phoenix you're having one of the highest elected officials of the state comb through my curriculum and say, 'This is illegal, you can't teach that' – the contradictions are glaring."
The entire school district may be penalized if Jones doesn't change course. If it's not changed or elimited entirely by March 10th, there is a thread of a 10% budget cut to the district's annual funding. A lawsuit to overturn the ethnic studies law will be presented on January 12th at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
[via Consequences of Sound]
