Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is on a roll. Not only has she given police the ability to pull over and arrest Latinos and banned teachers who speak heavily accented English, but she now has now passed House Bill 2281, which bans ethnic studies from state curriculum.

Brewer seems to be into legislating Arizona, abbreviated. (That is, Arizona, minus Latinos.)

Let It Bleed

HB 2281 added insult to injury. The fight to have more complete, inclusive versions of U.S. history taught in schools started in the 1960’s, and has continued for decades thereafter. The creation of academic disciplines in which to understand and experience a diverse America was one of the most effective, and long-lasting, accomplishments of the civil rights movement. The disciplines of American Studies, Women’s Studies, African-American Studies, Asian Studies, and Chicano Studies all emerged from there.

Despite some heated debates during the 1980’s “Culture Wars”, most national curricula have since been revised to include the experiences of people of color and women.

Lo Nuestro

Ethnic studies, or community-specific anthropology studies, are sometimes referred to as area studies. And Chicano Studies in Arizona are just that: studies of an area.

For those from the American Southwest, this law is, to repeat Obama’s depiction of SB 1070, “misguided.” The history of the Southwest is defined by a mixture of Native and European populations; called New Spain, or Mexico, or Arizona, it was Latino, and vaquero. Cowboy, and buckaroo. In the Southwest, the flat tops of canyons are called mesas, and canyons derived their name from the word cañon.

How can you tell a state that is one third Latino, with towns that are 80 percent Latino, that they can’t learn their own history? That their contributions to the area simply don’t matter?

You can pull Latino heritage out of the Southwest about as easily as you can pull light particles out of sunlight.

And the Southwest is a very sunny place.

Ourselves, Abbreviated

Brewer’s issue is that students in ethnic studies classes learn that Arizona was once part of Mexico. (I.e., her issue is with students actually learning history in history classes.)

What’s next, having students in Louisiana not learn that it was once part of France, or that have students in New England not learn that it was once part of…England?

The less we know about ourselves, the less of a country we are. With bills like HB 2281, we become abbreviated Americans, unaware of who we really are, and unappreciative of our greatest asset: our diversity.

Be Counted will be LIVE in Chicago on Saturday, March 13, at the Darkroom from 8:30PM to 10:30PM featuring Vicente Gayo, Marcelo C. Baez, and Mr. Gray!

See you there!

Voto Latino is building its first-ever mobile application. It will debut it in Los Angeles in late February. To access the application, you will have to be on the lookout for events, ads, or know someone very special!

The mobile app will feature educate, motivate, and place crucial Census information in the palm of your hand. A simple click on “Pledge” grants users access to five free songs from the Voto Latino music sampler, which features some of the best acts in Latin rock, rap, and alternative.

Voto Latino is spreading the word about the “Be Counted, Represent” on the radio, on public transit, and in person with activist hip hop artist Malverde. Listen for “Be Counted, Represent” mobile advertisements on Latino 96.3, and Super Estrella 107.1 FM, watch for “Be Counted, Represent” bus advertisements throughout East and South Los Angeles, and look out for Malverde at schools, cultural events, and political events throughout the L.A. area.

Pa’lante!