Not sure that most people know that as a result of draconian legislation, it has been in effect “illegal” to teach ethnic studies in Arizona since 2010. It is one of the twin laws that we in Arizona will never recognize as laws, regardless of what anyone says or however the courts rule.
That’s like asking whether the United Stated was founded upon genocide, land theft and slavery. But what sounds like digression, is not. The truth is, some people barely know that Arizona is in the United States, though this wasn’t always the case. The state has been a part of the United States only since 1912. Before that, as part of war booty, it had been a U.S. territory since 1848, as a result of an immoral and illegal war against Mexico. And before that, it had been and always will be Indian Country. For some, this is ancient history and irrelevant, though for this situation, this is actually the point.
There are particularities about the trial, but overall, this actually boils down to the question of what is permissible, and what is impermissible, knowledge. At the moment, this applies to K-12 students, but does not affect colleges and universities, but not for the lack of trying.
The inspiration for this legislation was former state superintendent, Tom Horne, who went on to become the state’s attorney general. His crusade against Raza Studies began in 2006 and culminated with the passage and the signing of HB 2281, by then Gov. Jan Brewer in May 2010. He advanced the notion that what was being taught in Raza Studies was racist and that it was grounded in values outside of and incompatible with Western Civilization.
Enter the Maya or maíz–based concepts of In Lak Ech and Panche Be.
In Lak Ech translates into: Tue eres mi otro Yo: You are my other self. It is a concept that teaches students to see themselves in each other, regardless of race, gender, color, religion, etc. Panche Be translates into: Buscar la raiz de la verdad or “to seek the root of the truth.” It also translates into “don’t believe the hype” or “critical thinking.” This was the philosophical core of Raza Studies. And mind you, Raza Studies was highly successful, graduating its students in the 90th percentile while the college-going rate was in the 80th percentile. Despite this, Horne objected to it, precisely because the students were being taught these concepts/values. He couldn’t care less whether the students were successful; his only interest is that they should be taught knowledge that came from the Greco-Roman tradition, as opposed to these maíz-based values.
