This article was downloaded by: [University of Arizona] On: 26 September 2011, At: 09:25 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tqse20 Notes from the Ethnic Studies home front: student protests, texting, and subtexts of oppression Lydia R. Otero a & Julio Cammarota a a Mexican American Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA Available online: 26 Sep 2011 To cite this article: Lydia R. Otero & Julio Cammarota (2011): Notes from the Ethnic Studies home front: student protests, texting, and subtexts of oppression, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 24:5, 639-648 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2011.600267 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and- conditions This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in EducationAquatic Insects Vol. 24, No. 5, September–October 2011, 639–648 Notes from the Ethnic Studies home front: student protests, texting, and subtexts of oppression Lydia R. Otero and Julio Cammarota* Mexican American Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA (Received 24 September 2010; final version received 22 June 2011) The protest against Arizona House Bill 2281 designed to ban Ethnic Studies from K-12 public schools on 12 May 2010 in Tucson resulted in 15 arrests. Stu- dents walked out of their classrooms in large numbers to defend their Mexican American Studies curriculum and program. Based primarily on participant observation of the protest, the authors examine the pedagogies of transforma- tional resistance, interrogate HB 2281’s repressive aspects, and illuminate the role of social networking media as expressions of cultural citizenship in the twenty-first century. Keywords: youth activism; social justice; Ethnic Studies Introduction As professors in the Department of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona (UA), the authors participated in a protest against anti-Ethnic Studies legis- lation on 12 May 2010. Governor Jan Brewer had signed House Bill 2281 that banned Ethnic Studies from K-12 public schools the previous afternoon. During the ensuing protest, one author was arrested and charged with third-degree trespassing, but neither professor was involved in planning the protest events. Arizona, the focus of media attention in 2010 for its punitive anti-immigrant stance, moved to legislate ideological borders and zeroed in on a public school curriculum with a history of nurturing a critical consciousness and creating a politically enlightened citizenry (Cammarota 2009). Although we interrogate the ideologies that underpin HB 2281 to illuminate the context of oppression to which the protesters responded, this article is based primar- Downloaded by [University of Arizona] at 09:25 26 September 2011 ily on participant observation. Far from being a linear protest and confined to one location, it cuts across a number of spatial boundaries. We employ an interdisciplin- ary lens to fully relate the level of civic and student mobilization that transpired that spring day. Cognizant of our position, analytical gaze, and the shifting geographies, our main goal is to tell a story of transformation and resistance. Young people are central to our narrative so we conducted a few follow-up interviews after the protest to evaluate mobilization efforts that seemed to happen instantaneously as “fast organizing” (Yang 2007). In reality, however, students had been strategizing for months. We also examine a concept of educational resistance *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ISSN 0951-8398 print/ISSN 1366-5898 online Ó 2011 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2011.600267 http://www.tandfonline.com 640 L.R. Otero and J. Cammarota known as “transformational resistance” (Solorzano and Delgado Bernal 2001) as it relates to how resistance flows in and through youth organizing and activism. As we unravel the events of May 12, we also examine the role of social networking media, texting in particular, to form a complex web created and utilized by students to garner support for their education and associate these forms, and forums, as expressions of “cultural citizenship” in the twenty-first century (Flores and Benmay- or 1997). We conclude by illuminating youth organizing/activism as resistance and a key component to transformational pedagogies. The subtext of oppression On 23 April 2010, the Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 (“the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in recent US history”), tagged the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” by its proponents such as legislator Russell Pearce. As she signed the bill, Brewer acknowledged that “people across America are watching Arizona.” The global denouncements, outcries, and protests had not deterred her and her Republican allies from enacting legislation that openly targeted and sought to contain Mexican people. In fact, the glare of the global spotlight seemed to have emboldened them. On May 11, a little over two weeks after signing SB 1070, Jan Brewer signed House Bill 2281, designed to eliminate Ethnic Studies from the public schools. Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne had devised this legisla- tion and ensured its passage in the state’s legislature. This sweeping bill has the potential to shut down Ethnic Studies programs throughout the state. Horne, how- ever, had designed HB 2281 to empower the Superintendent of Public Instruction to investigate and selectively declare programs “out of compliance.” School districts would then be given an ultimatum – dismantle Ethnic Studies programs or lose 10% of their total state funding each year. Thus, this legislation allowed Horne to target Tucson Unified School District’s (TUSD) Mexican American Studies (MAS) program. He had demonized this program for the last four years, claiming it fos- tered “ethnic chauvinism,” provided a breeding ground for “racial hatred,” and referred to students in this program as “rude” and “insolent.” Thus, HB 2281 included reactionary claims that Ethnic Studies “promotes the overthrow of the US government.” Analogous to SB 1070, the anti-Ethnic Studies bill sought to curtail border Downloaded by [University of Arizona] at 09:25 26 September 2011 crossing. In this case, it targeted pedagogies that have transformative possibilities and which provide students with unretractable insights into systems of power. HB 2281 opposes “border pedagogy,” which Giroux (1993, 28) asserts is an educational process that builds a “democratic public philosophy” to renew public life through the veneration of cultural differences. Ethnic Studies opponents such as Horne, Pearce, and Brewer, insist on disseminating simplistic narratives based on historical amnesia that mask hegemonic versions of power. They press color-blind narratives and claim that they legislate “without regard to skin color, accent, or social status.” Refined in the rhetoric of cultural imperialism, these high-profile politicians stead- fastly refuse to acknowledge that multiple experiences and oppressions exist, even as they exploit the anemic economy and scapegoat Mexican people. They have mastered the rhetoric that nimbly avoids engaging in any thoughtful conversations that imply unbalanced power relations and that could possibly implicate them as oppressors. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 641 In recent years, and in many cases, particularly in heated statewide elections, Republicans have managed to control the mainstream political debates. For instance, Horne’s primary criticism of MAS is the use of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a core text. Horne claims that this work “falsely” teaches students they are oppressed. Indeed, Freire’sdefinition of oppression centers on ideological forces that derive from societal institutions that maintain dehumanization through actions that attempt to deny the individual’s right to self-determination. Ironically, by outlawing education programs where students learn ethnic history and culture, Tom Horne imposes obstacles to self-determination and thus oppresses students who seek more relevant pedagogical pathways. According to Horne, “We should be teaching the students that this is the land of opportunity; they can achieve their ambitions if they work hard. They should not be taught that this is the land of oppression” (MacEachern 2008). These types of statements actually testify to the effectiveness of MAS’s use of