By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
On the way to Tucson’s Freedom Summer, I’m driving with a
few friends. We speak of several topics and at one point, someone laments that
over the past several years, former state school’s superintendent, Tom Horne,
his successor, John Huppenthal along with TUSD superintendent, John Pedicone,
had managed to bury Tucson’s highly praised and highly successful Mexican
American Studies (MAS) department.
That statement froze me in my tracks. Yet, immediately, an
image came to my mind.
“Yes,” I said. “…Just like in the Popol Vuh.”
The Popol Vuh is the ancient creation story of the Quiche
Maya, which tells the story of the creation of the universe,
maíz, and human
beings.
In that ancient creation story, at a certain point, the Hero
Twins outsmart the Lords of Xibalba. One of the twins, Xblanque, cuts off the
head of the other twin, Hunaphu and buries it, and then Hunaphu promptly comes
back to life. Impressed, several of the Lords demand that they too get their
heads chopped off and buried. The twins comply, but do not bury their heads.
The story is complex, but in the end, burying the heads represents the planting
of maíz.
In Tucson, the story, in effect, is in reverse. The state
and the TUSD governing board have buried MAS, and rather than die, it is now
sprouting everywhere nationwide.
This is part of the story of Tucson’s Freedom Summer. People
from across the country are gathering daily. But the more remarkable part of
the story is that people are going back, or will be going back, to plant the
seeds. Soon, educators will be proposing to their own local school boards to
implement MAS at elementary, middle schools and high schools.
It is an awesome story unfolding before our very eyes. And
in a sense, this is the second time this is being playing out. The first time
occurred in 1969 via El Plan de Santa
Barbara. At that historic gathering, the seeds were planted and soon
thereafter, hundreds of Chicano/Chicana studies programs, centers and departments
sprouted on college campuses and universities nationwide. Actually, unbeknownst
to most people, this discipline sprouted worldwide, from Mexico to Europe and
Asia.
To their chagrin, this very same process is now beginning to
take place at K-12 schools nationwide. Rather than bury Raza studies, they have
and are actually contributing to the reenactment of that cosmic drama.
Amazingly, by eliminating MAS this year, another historic
drama is also being reenacted. When the TUSD governing board complied with the
state’s anti-Ethnic Studies HB 2281 in January of this year, purportedly
because MAS teaches hate, promotes segregation and the overthrow of the
government, the board did not simply eliminate a department, they did not
simply ban a curriculum, its books and accompanying teaching materials. What
they actually did was attempt to outlaw a worldview – a worldview that
literally is related to the Popol Vuh.
Mr. Horne and his supporters have long insisted that the MAS
curriculum is outside of Western civilization. In their own definition, they
are correct. MAS does not owe its roots to Greco-Roman culture, but rather to
the ancient Indigenous maíz culture of this very continent.
Aside from the fact that the MAS department was highly
successful, it should be an honor for Tucson and the state to be able to
showcase the accomplishments of MAS. Tucson is no stranger to maíz; it is
purportedly the home of the oldest (some 4,000 years) surviving cornfield in
the United States, on the corner of Silver Bell and Ina. The state of New
Mexico, at Bat Cave, is the site of the oldest corncob ever found in the United
States, purportedly close to 6,000 years old.
Thus, there is nothing foreign about maíz; it is one of the
ultimate symbols of the story of this continent.
In that spirit, as a community, we invite the detractors to
cease being detractors. And we invite everyone to come to Tucson's
Freedom Summer and learn what thousands of students have already
learned. In that
spirit, as a community, we offer you the words of In Lak’ Ech, which
also come
to us from the Maya, an ethos taught to our students:
In
lak’ Ech
Tú eres mi otro yo.
Si te hago daño a ti
Me hago daño a mí mismo.
Sí te amo y respeto,
Me amo y respeto yo.
You are my other me.
If I do harm to you,
I do harm to myself.
If I love and respect you,
I love and respect myself.
* For information regarding
freedom summer, which will run through mid-August, go to:
tucsonfreedomsummer.com
Follow this link to learn of the attacks against former MAS director, Sean Arce and former MAS teacher, Jose Gonzalez:
Follow this link to learn of the attacks against former MAS director, Sean Arce and former MAS teacher, Jose Gonzalez:
Rodriguez, an
assistant professor in the Mexican American Studies department at the
University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com - http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
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