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At 8:00 AM, Mountain Standard Time, teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies Department distributed the statement below at the White House Hispanic Community Action Summit in Tucson, Arizona (updated at 10:33 AM, CST
STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO BOOK CENSORSHIP
IN THE TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
January 30, 2012
The undersigned organizations are committed to
protecting free speech and intellectual freedom. We write to express our deep
concern about the removal of books used in the Mexican-American Studies Program
in the Tucson Unified School District. This occurred in response to a
determination by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal
that the program “contained content promoting resentment toward a race or class
of people” and that “materials repeatedly reference white people as being
‘oppressors….’ in violation of state law.” The books have been boxed up and put
in storage; their fate and that of the program remain in limbo.
The First Amendment is grounded on the fundamental
rule that government officials, including public school administrators, may not
suppress “an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or
disagreeable.” School officials have a great deal of authority and discretion
to determine the curriculum, the subject of courses, and even methods of
instruction. They are restrained only by the constitutional obligation to base
their decisions on sound educational grounds, and not on ideology or political
or other personal beliefs. Thus, school officials are free to debate the merits
of any educational program, but that debate does not justify the wholesale
removal of books, especially when the avowed purpose is to suppress unwelcome
information and viewpoints.
School officials have insisted that the books
haven’t been banned because they are still available in school libraries. It is
irrelevant that the books are available in the library – or at the local
bookstore. School officials have removed materials from the curriculum,
effectively banning them from certain classes, solely because of their content
and the messages they contain. The effort to “prescribe what shall be orthodox
in politics, nationalism, [or] religion” is the essence of censorship, whether
the impact results in removal of all the books in a classroom, seven books, or
only one.
Students deserve an education that provides
exposure to a wide range of topics and perspectives, including those that are
controversial. Their education has already suffered from this political and
ideological donnybrook, which has caused massive disruption in their classes
and will wreak more havoc as teachers struggle to fill the educational vacuum
that has been created.
Book-banning and thought control are antithetical to
American law, tradition and values. In Justice Louis Brandeis's famous words,
the First Amendment is founded on the belief:
that freedom to think as you will and to speak as
you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth;
that, without free speech and assembly, discussion would be futile; … that it
is hazardous to discourage thought, hope and imagination …. Believing in the
power of reason as applied through public discussion, [the Framers] eschewed
silence coerced by law …. Recognizing the occasional tyrannies of governing
majorities, they amended the Constitution so that free speech and assembly
should be guaranteed.
The First Amendment right to read, speak and think
freely applies to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, or
national origin. We strongly urge Arizona school officials to take this
commitment seriously and to return all books to classrooms and remove all
restrictions on ideas that can be addressed in class.
American Association of University Professors
Cary Nelson, President
1133 19th St., NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-737-5900
crnelson@illinois.edu
American Booksellers For Free Expression
Chris Finan, President
19 Fulton Street, Suite 407
New York, NY 10038
212-587-4025
chris@abffe.org
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona
Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director
P.O. Box 17148
Phoenix, AZ 85011-0148
602-773-6006
ameetze@acluaz.org
Antigone Books
Trudy Mills, Owner
411 N. 4th Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705
520-792-3715
info@antigonebooks.com
Arizona English Teachers' Association
Jean Boreen, Executive Secretary
Northern Arizona University, English Department
P.O. BOX 6032
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6032
Jean.Boreen@nau.edu
Arizona Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
Craig Lefever, President
P.O. Box 881
Yuma, AZ 85366
Craig.lefever@yc.edu
Arizona English Teachers' Association
Jean Boreen, Executive Secretary
Northern Arizona University, English Department
P.O. BOX 6032
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6032
Jean.Boreen@nau.edu
Arizona Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
Craig Lefever, President
P.O. Box 881
Yuma, AZ 85366
Craig.lefever@yc.edu
Judith Platt, Director, Free Expression &
Advocacy
455 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
202-220-4551
jplatt@publishers.org
Association of American University Presses
Peter Givler, Executive Director
28 West 36th Street, Suite 602
New York, NY 10018
212-989-1010
pgivler@aaupnet.org
Atlanta’s Music & Books
Joan Werner, Owner
38 Main Street
Bisbee, AZ 85603
Bisbee, AZ 85603
520-432-9976
Authors Guild
Paul Aiken, Executive Director
31 East 32nd Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10016
212-563-5904
PAiken@authorsguild.org
Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking
Dr. Kathryn F. Whitmore, President
N275 Lindquist Center
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
319-335-5434
Kathryn-whitemore@uiowa.edu
Changing Hands Bookstore
Gayle Shanks and Bob Sommer, Owners
6428 S McClintock Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205
inbox@changinghands.com
Charles Brownstein, Executive Director
255 West 36th Street, Suite 501
New York, NY 10018
212-679-7151
charles.brownstein@cbldf.org
Freedom to Read Foundation, an affiliate of the
American Library Association
Barbara M. Jones, Executive Director
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-4226
bjones@ala.org
International Reading Association
Richard M. Long, Ed.D., Director, Government
Relations
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 524
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 624-8801
rlong@reading.org
Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers
Association
Laura Ayrey, Executive Director
8020 Springshire Drive
Park City, UT 84098
435-649-6079
laura@mountainsplains.org
National Coalition Against Censorship
Joan Bertin, Executive Director
19 Fulton Street, Suite 407
New York, NY 10038
212-807-6242
bertin@ncac.org
National Council for the Social Studies
Susan Griffin, Executive Director
8555 16th St, Ste 500
Silver Spring, MD
20910
301.588.1800
x 103
sgriffin@ncss.org
Millie Davis, Division Director
Communications and Affiliate Services
1111 West Kenyan Road
Urbana, IL 61801
800-369-6283 ext. 3634
mdavis@ncte.org
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Kichoon Yang, Executive Director
1906 Association Drive
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Kichoon Yang, Executive Director
1906 Association Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1502
703-620-9840
kyang@nctm.org
National Education Association
Michael D. Simpson, Assistant General Counsel
NEA Office of General Counsel
1201 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-822-7035
msimpson@nea.org
National Youth Rights Association
Alex Koroknay-Palicz, Executive Director
1101 15th Street, NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
202-835-1739
akpalicz@youthrights.org
PEN American Center
Larry Siems, Director, Freedom to Write &
International Programs
588 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
212-334-1660 ext. 105
lsiems@pen.org
PEN Center USA
Adam Somers, Executive Director
P.O. Box 6037
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
323-424-4939
adam@penusa.org
People For the American Way
Debbie Liu, General Counsel
1101 15th Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-467-4999
Reach Out and Read
Anne-Marie Fitzgerald
Senior Director of National and State Programs
56 Roland Street, Suite 100D
Boston, MA 02129
618-455-0600
Reading is Fundamental, Inc.
Carol Hampton Rasco, President/CEO
1255 23rd Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20037
202-536-3500
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
Lin Oliver, Executive Director
8271 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-782-1010
linoliver@scbwi.org
Spark Teacher Education Institute
Educational Praxis, Inc.
P.O. Box 409
Putney, Vermont 05346
802-258-9212
Student Press Law Center
Frank LoMonte, Executive Director
1101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209-2275 USA
703-807-1904
flomonte@splc.org
TESOL International
Association
John Segota, CAE, Associate
Executive Director for Public Policy & Professional Relations
1925 Ballenger Ave.,
Suite 550
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-518-2513
jsegota@tesol.org
(List in formation)
_____________________________________
For further information contact:
Joan Bertin, National Coalition Against Censorship,
212-807-6222, Bertin@ncac.org
or
Chris
Finan, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, 212-587-4025, chris@Abffe.org
