16th Annual "¡A Viva Voz!" with Ana Castillo, Carmen Tafolla, and Angela Valenzuela

This is happening soon, my friends.  Join us for an interesting evening discussion in a session that I will moderate on the books that were banned in Arizona, including books written by our world-class authors, Ana Castillo and Carmen Tafolla, Poet Laureate of Texas in 2015.

Thursday, April 5^th, 7PM—Benson Library Main Reading Room – first floor

8:00-9:00 Reception follow catered by Casa Chapala

As moderator and expert witness on the case, I myself will also make a few remarks about the Arizona court decision that took this medieval step of banning books, a decision that had the effect of motivating Tony Diaz' librotraficante movement that took on the job of trafficking these banned books back into Arizona, and
re-igniting the Ethnic Studies movement nationwide.  The struggle for curricular inclusion is a legacy movement that dates back to the late 1960s and early 1970s Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.  

Here is a link to all the banned books for your perusal [annotated books link here].  While my book, Subtractive Schooling, wasn't banned, it was nevertheless specifically cited in the Administrative Law Judge's decision that resulted in the banning of all of the books.  Despite the judge's "findings of fact" back in 2010, I found it a bit amusing that the Arizona Department of Education forgot to include it in the ban. That said, this list offers great summer reading.

For additional resources on the case, here is a link from the Korematsu Center for Civil Rights that allow for a deeper dive.

Angela Valenzuela 

c/s