Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer just signed a law making it illegal for the state’s public schools to teach ethnic studies classes. Tom Horne, the state superintendent for public instruction who supported the legislation, said, “Traditionally, the American public school system has brought together students from different backgrounds and taught them to be Americans and to treat each other as individuals, and not on the basis of their ethnic backgrounds. This is consistent with the fundamental American value that we are all individuals, not exemplars of whatever ethnic groups we were born into. Ethnic studies programs teach the opposite, and are designed to promote ethnic chauvinism.”
Let’s examine the Arizona law and Horne’s support of it. First, the American public school system does not have a long history of bringing together students of different backgrounds. In fact, until 1954, our schools were segregated (legally, much later in practice), with Whites getting the most resources and Blacks and Latinos getting the leftovers. If it had not been for brave people like former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, public schools might still be legally segregated. It takes courage to stand up to those who benefit from status quo discrimination.
Second, the fundamental value of which Horne spoke — that we are all individuals — is written in our Constitution but is thrown out of focus by a history of discrimination. In fact, the Constitution did discuss groups, saying that members of the Black group should be counted as three-fifths of a person. The residue of discrimination persists, with minority groups often held to account for the behavior of a single individual. The White worker, for example, who shows up late is lazy, while a tardy Latina is an exemplar of a supposed culture of laziness. Erasing the heritage of the minority groups that have suffered discrimination will not end the discrimination.
Third, ethnic studies programs do not teach ethnic chauvinism. Courses in ethnic studies enrich the learning process of all children. They teach young people to accept other cultures and respect ideas and traditions that differ from their own. They also provide senses of empowerment and security for racial and ethnic minorities. People often ask me, “Why do we need to have classes on ethnic studies or diversity? Why can’t we just have “classes”? The problem is most of the curriculum in the United States focuses on White America and does not speak to the history, culture and traditions of racial and ethnic minorities. It would be wonderful if every school, college and university adopted an inclusive curriculum that represented all Americans. However, what we have is curricula for one segment of the nation.
