American Library Association condemns closure of MAS program, removal of texts

by David Safier

The banning of the use of texts by former Mexican-American Studies teachers infuriates the English teacher in me. I understand, there are some good reasons why some books should not be in schools, but the ideas contained in them is not one of those good reasons.

But if you want to see a group of people rise up against unreasonable banning of books, look no further than librarians. They may seem like a demure group of folks, always speaking in whispers and shushing people in their libraries. But they are fierce defenders of access to books of all kinds.

The American Library Association released a resolution Tuesday condemning both the decision to get rid of the MAS program and the decision to prohibit the use of texts by former MAS teachers. You can read the whole resolution with all the WHEREASes after the jump, but here's the actual resolution:

RESOLVED, That the American Library Association:

1) Condemns the suppression of open inquiry and free expression caused by closure of ethnic and cultural studies programs on the basis of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
2) Condemns the restriction of access to educational materials associated with ethnic and cultural studies programs.
3) Urges the Arizona legislature to pass HB 2654, “An Act Repealing Sections 15-111 and 15-112, Arizona Revised Statutes; Relating to School Curriculum.”

Here's a list of the Library groups supporting the resolution:

[T]he ALA Committee on Diversity, ALA Committee on Legislation, American Association of School Librarians, American Indian Library Association, Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Chinese American Library Association, Intellectual Freedom Round Table, REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, Social Responsibilities Round Table, and the Young Adult Library Services Association.

My advice: Kiss your local librarian -- but be sure to ask first. These people are defenders of our freedom and strong advocates for literacy. (You might ask a librarian how they responded when, during the Bush administration, they were told they had to release lists of books patrons had borrowed if the government asked.)

A MAJOR HAT TIP: Jeff Biggers just keeps writing about the MAS story, on Huffington Post, on Salon, wherever he finds a national outlet. He puts the links on Facebook, then sends them to me and others. I got the link to the ALA resolution from his article Arizona Unbound: National Actions on Mexican American Studies Banishment. (And a literary hat tip if I'm correct in assuming Jeff took his title from Prometheus Unbound, with versions written centuries apart by Aeschylus and Shelley). He sent me links to another group of articles I haven't had time to read yet. I'll post about them when I do.

Read the entire ALA resolution after the jump.

RESOLUTION OPPOSING RESTRICTION OF ACCESS TO MATERIALS AND OPEN INQUIRY IN ETHNIC AND CULTURAL STUDIES PROGRAMS IN ARIZONA

WHEREAS, The policy of the American Library Association supports “equal access to information for all persons and recognizes the ongoing need to increase awareness of and responsiveness to the diversity of the communities we serve” (ALA Policy Manual, Section 60); and

WHEREAS, “The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label “controversial” views, to distribute lists of “objectionable” books or authors, and to purge libraries.” (Freedom to Read Statement, adopted June 25, 1953; last revised June 30, 2004); and

WHEREAS, “No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say” (Freedom to Read Statement, adopted June 25, 1953; last revised June 30, 2004); and

WHEREAS, The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), in compliance with The State of Arizona Revised Statutes Sections 15-111 and 15-112, had to eliminate its Mexican American Studies (MAS) Program, resulting in the subsequent removal of textbooks and books on the MAS Program Reading List; and

WHEREAS, Textbooks and reading list titles written by nationally and internationally renowned authors and scholars that reflect this country’s rich diverse heritage can no longer be taught or assigned by teachers in the suspended MAS Program; and

WHEREAS, Students in the TUSD MAS Program develop critical thinking skills through the study of literature written by ALA award winning authors; and students have demonstrated proven academic success, graduating from high school at the rate of 90% and entering college at a rate of 80%; and

WHEREAS, Educators rely on the collection development expertise of school librarians and access to a diverse collection to respond effectively to the individual learning needs of their students; and

WHEREAS, HB 2654 has been introduced in The State of Arizona House of Representatives, “An Act Repealing Sections 15-111 and 15-112, Arizona Revised Statutes; Relating to School Curriculum;”

now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the American Library Association:

1) Condemns the suppression of open inquiry and free expression caused by closure of ethnic and cultural studies programs on the basis of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
2) Condemns the restriction of access to educational materials associated with ethnic and cultural studies programs.
3) Urges the Arizona legislature to pass HB 2654, “An Act Repealing Sections 15-111 and 15-112, Arizona Revised Statutes; Relating to School Curriculum.”

This resolution should be sent to The Tucson Unified School District, The State of Arizona Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction, each member of The State of Arizona Legislature, the Governor of Arizona, United States Congressman Grijalva, and the United States Secretary of Education.

Comments

[Dan Kleinman]

The ALA got it right since the resolution makes no false claims about book "banning" or "censorship."

Let’s be clear no book “banning” was involved. The issues are more serious than false claims of book “banning.” In reality, no book has been banned in the USA for about half a century.

If book “banning” is one of the arguments, it only telegraphs that the remainder of the arguments may be similarly specious. I know that is not what is intended. So, David Safier, I respectfully suggest dropping references to false claims of book “banning.”

As I said, even the ALA’s own resolution in support of the curriculum does not use either word, instead opting for “restriction of access to educational materials,” which may be accurate.

So I strongly suggest removing any false claims of “banning” from any of your arguments regarding the curriculum.

[David Safier]

Dan, I respect your views, but there can be general bans and specific bans. TUSD has created a specific ban -- that is, a prohibition based on the law -- on certain books used by certain teachers. The word has all kinds of negative connotations, and the ALA might have wanted to avoid the term for that reason. But here in Tucson, it's important to emphasize the dangers involved with this ongoing issue and the significance of the mistakes made by the state DOE and TUSD, so I opt to use the correct term "ban" rather than an equally correct but less negative-sounding term.

[Dan Kleinman]

Thanks David, I see your point now. Still, it seems to me that the curriculum was removed. All that came with it, including the books, is incidental to the curriculum removal.

If you hitch your star on the book banning claim, know that book banning claims are made constantly whenever anyone opposes any material in schools, no matter how inappropriate. Even progressive librarians are tiring of it. So, in my opinion, you'll merely add your case to the hundreds of others that are also not actual book bans. It's your weakest argument. I suggest dropping it.

[feifan chang]

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