The current anti-Critical Race Theory debate is fully about turning a blind eye and negating disparities between whites and people of color while enhancing the power and privileges of white people. 

Racism's greatest power is both to reinscribe not only the idea of a "white" identity to begin with, but also to socialize whites into being prejudicial and discriminatory while erasing the histories of people of color, the vast majority of whom are native to this continent. Note: There is no country or continent named "White" such that whites come from somewhere else. Trite but true.

And this isn't only a "white people problem," but also a people of color problem to the degree they buy into these fictions.

This work by an anti-CRT Cornell Law School professor named William Jacobson also reminds us that attacks against native peoples are ongoing racial projects themselves. 

He brings to mind a person named Felix S. Cohen, solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior who in 1940 set up a task force of case law pertaining to Indian rights so that he could create a plaintiff-friendly "handbook" designed as an "authoritative" source for ostensibly limiting—and according to scholar Vine Deloria, Jr.—actually ending Native Americans' "political existence and the merging of Indian rights into domestic American law." (p. 95) He describes this text as getting elevated "to the status of a treatise—an elevation it never deserved." (p. 95) 

Hence, Felix S. Cohen's "handbook" was the tool of conquest in its day—not unlike Professor Jacobson's website today.

-Angela Valenzuela

*Deloria Jr, V. (2006). Conquest masquerading as law. Unlearning the language of conquest: Scholars expose anti-Indianism in America, 94-107.

New website tracks where critical race theory is taught at US schools

By 

Lia Eustachewich

  | New York Post | Feb. 5, 2021

A Cornell Law School professor has launched a new website about critical race theory curriculum in the US — in hopes of educating “concerned” parents about how the controversial movement impacts education.

Criticalrace.org, created by William Jacobson, features a state-by-state list of more than 200 colleges and universities promoting critical race theory — which he describes as “a radical ideology that focuses on race as the key to understanding society, and objectifies people based on race.”

“The website is a resource for parents and students who no longer can assume they will be left alone,” Jacobson told Fox News. “The entire ideology of CRT and ‘anti-racist’ training is that ‘silence is violence.'”

He added, “As we head into college application and selection season, we need to get parents, in particular, to focus on CRT that will be forced on their kids.”

Launched last weekend, the website was a six-month project by Legal Insurrection, the conservative blog run by Jacobson. It contains information about various schools — including Cornell in Ithaca, where Jacobson teaches — as well as links to critical race training activity there.

Jacobson told Fox News that people need to know that higher education “is the source of the problem.”

“It provides the ideological mothers’ milk for activists and trains the people who then go onto jobs in government and primary/secondary education and the ‘journalists’ who push this coverage,” he said.

The website includes a database of over 200 colleges and universities teaching critical race theory.

criticalrace.org

“This summer, Cornell University announced a series of actions to respond to advocates of critical race theory,” the website reads. “A for-credit, university-wide graduation requirement covering ‘systemic racism, colonialism, bias and inequity’ is under development. Additionally, the university announced the creation of an ‘anti-racism’ research center, as well as possible reform of its police department.”

Critics, including Discovery Institute researcher Chris Rufo, believe critical race theory perpetuates racism by encouraging segregation, Fox News reported.

Proponents say the intellectual movement helps people better understand race and its relevance to all social interactions.

“Racism is not extraordinary,” Angela Onwuachi-Willig, an expert on the theory at Boston University School of Law, told the Boston Globe. “Race and racism are basically baked into everything we do in our society. It’s embedded in our institutions. It’s embedded in our minds and hearts.”

'Stolen from us': The Latinos who lost their language and the fight to recover it | Together We Rise

What is key here in this narrative about the so-called "loss" of the Spanish language is the intent of education policy—that embodies larger social relations of power and concomitant values—is a long history of subordination that shows up at district- and school-level policy and practice as either English-only or "English-mostly." 

This experience is different for European-origin ethnic groups whose social history of immigrant incorporation into U.S. society is one of succession as "meltable ethnics" that could become white and in so doing, assimilate to U.S. society. 

In contrast, fort the "unmeltable ethnics," this is a totally different story with what I call "subtractive cultural assimilation" or simply, "subtractive schooling," ruling the day. That is, Latinas/os and other people of color are unfairly asked and expected to simply follow a line of succession that scarcely materializes, except for very few—with those few, like myself, legitimating the entire structure of inequality. 

"See, the system works!" one might say. Not so fast, my friend, even if there are cracks in the melting pot that allow some through.

Before we even attend to this question of mobility, let's engage the pained and anguished voices herein, reflecting the harm to the spirit that denying a basic right like language engenders. 

Psychologically, it might feel differently if our numbers were few or if we shared a border with Canada. Instead, our numbers are large and share the longest border with Mexico of any state in the U.S. 

Emanating, as well, from the original inhabitants of this land before there was a place called "Texas" or a "United States" frustrates this deep sense of denial that's further layered over an earlier colonial history where our ancestors were denied their native, Indigenous tongues and identities. Thursday's blog on a Lakota high school student walkout in Rapid City, South Dakota, attests to how this racial, colonial project of erasing Native American's tongues and cultures is alive and well today.

Our ongoing movements for civil rights, including bilingual education, school finance equity and inclusion, especially in state Ethnic Studies curricula, have made a positive difference—and not just for Latinas/os, but for all children fortunate enough to receive such instruction. 

As a state, Texas is well poised to embrace an ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse future. It's silly that we lag so far behind when we have so much to gain.

Sí se puede! Yes we can!

-Angela Valenzuela

'Stolen from us': The Latinos who lost their language and the fight to recover it | Together We Rise

KENS 5's 'Together We Rise' dives into the deeper history behind why some Hispanics may not speak Spanish.

TOGETHER WE RISE

Author: Audrey Castoreno, Alex Castillo | Aug. 18, 2021

SAN ANTONIO — Many people question those Latinos who do not speak Spanish.

Joshua Amparan and Michelle Mireles both of the Hispanic ethnicity do not speak Spanish. Mireles says she's been questioned as to why.

“I’m used to it now, but for a long time, I wondered why wasn’t I taught Spanish," Mireles said. 

Both of Amparan's parents speak Spanish, but he can understand it better than speak it. 

“I will say a lot of the people I grew up with have similar upbringings," Amparan said. "Their parents were more fluent in Spanish and they really didn’t know a lot."

Many experience ridicule from Latinos and other races. 

“People would automatically go up to my daughter who is just as dark-skinned as I am speaking Spanish to her and then get after her for not speaking Spanish, Rosendo Gutierrez said. "She’d say, 'Dad, these people are getting -- some of them almost violent -- with me.'”

We turned to the Director of UTSA's Mexico Center and an Associate Professor of History, Jerry B. Gonzalez, Ph.D., for answers about when Spanish fell off for this generation.

"Here in San Antonio and South Texas, language has been at the very center of a number of discriminatory policies and actions, at the center of the disinvestment of different communities, so we kind of have to begin really early on," Dr. Gonzalez said.

Dr. Gonzalez says the treaty of Guadalupe Hildago ensured Mexican Americans would have the right to speak Spanish. 

“For most of the 19th century. Spanish was meant to be on an equitable plain with English," Dr. Gonzalez said. " At least on the books, but that’s not how it played out in every day.”

Segregation in schools ended in 1954, but still many students faced inequities. 

“There were signs all over the school bathrooms, doors, everything, 'Say It In English'. I still remember it was a white sign with red lettering," Rosendo Gutierrez said. "What bothered me the most was the fact that it kind of turned us against each other."

“That English-only mandates are what colored most of ethnic Mexican experiences in education and primary school education throughout the first half of the 20th century,” Dr. Gonzalez said. "So even though Mexican students can go to school with white folks, they still can’t speak Spanish in schools."

Many students are reprimanded for speaking Spanish in a number of ways. 

“In school, I remember speaking it or just turning around to say something in Spanish and then, 'Herlinda, go to the office,'" Herlinda Sifuentes said while holding out her hand. “They would hit you with a paddle."

"I recall hearing that they would have to pay a penny every time they were caught saying something in Spanish or get paddled," Diana Herrera said. 

"At the playground I say something, and it wasn’t nothing derogatory, but I say something and somebody, a teacher, says "You are not supposed to speak Spanish'," Richard Herrera said. "They take me to the office and they threaten to paddle me."

“That really stigmatized me, it really did because I was punished, I was paddled and I think to myself, 'I want to learn English,'" Rosendo Gutierrez said. "We went through a lot. It lasted all through elementary school and it lasted all through junior high before those signs started coming down.”

Non-Latino classmates are unaware of this treatment. 

"I am absolutely shocked when I hear it, because I know as a black person 'oh yeah we experienced racism', but for anybody else I absolutely shocked when I hear it,” Linda Love said. 

Prejudice with the Spanish language continued into the '80s with long-lasting effects. 

"What begins to happen by the ’50s, there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of folks who are no longer learning Spanish at home or are actively being repressed of speaking Spanish out in the streets,” Dr. Gonzalez said. 

“My mom would just tell me that it just came down to school," Michelle Mireles said. "Being in school and being treated different because you spoke the language and just to protect us from all of that they just decided just strictly English."“I think just the fact that they were trying to mold us by forcing us to learn English so that we could be assimilated into the mainstream," Rosendo Gutierrez said. "I know the intentions were good, but the manner in which it was done and the results, I never felt were good."

"The result is that now we are in 2021, there are generations of Latinos that don’t speak Spanish as a result of this deep history of language suppression," Dr. Gonzalez said. 

There is hope for the next generation. 

“My kids personally, I want them to know Spanish," Michelle Mireles said. "My twins take Spanish classes to try to get to speak."

"My older son is actually probably more fluent in Spanish than I am and I know now my father tries to talk to him almost exclusively in Spanish to try to help him keep up those skills," Joshua Amparan said. 

“I think it’s important to recover in some way that language that was stolen from us, because if stolen that is too strong of a term for some people, that language that was denied us in some way," Dr. Gonzalez said. "That’s an important part of just identifying of who you are, it’s important to be bilingual, or more especially in a place like Texas which is the bilingual capital in this country."

Haitian Immigrants at the Texas Border Deserve Better Treatment by Dr. Edward T. Rincón

It is disturbing to witness the harsh and inhumane treatment of already traumatized Haitian immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. We all know it would be a different story altogether if it were Canadians trying to get in. Dr. Rincón reminds us that our nation has been served well by a long history of immigration. 

We must all always summon the best of who we are in times of crisis like this. In a spirit of humility and loving kindness, we should all acknowledge that "By the grace of God I am." (I Cor. 15: 10) Plus, we as a society are abundantly endowed with the capacity to grow a "broader we." 

The least we can do is treat all migrants seeking asylum with dignity and respect, giving them access to legal counsel so that their pleas for asylum can get heard. If you want to make a contribution to a great organization that addresses these migrants' claims, consider making a donation to Raices.

-Angela Valenzuela

@RAICESTEXAS @RAICESACTION #ImmigrationIsABlackIssue #ImmigrationReform #asylum #HaitianLivesMatter @GovAbbott @ImmigrActivists

Haitian Immigrants at the Texas Border Deserve Better Treatment

by Edward T. Rincón, Ph.D.

Such is the vision inscribed at the Statue of Liberty that for generations has represented America’s ideal for welcoming previous waves of immigrants to our nation.   The thousands of Haitian immigrants that recently arrived at the southern U.S. border, however, were met with border patrols on horseback using lariats to control the crowds of immigrants --- not exactly the welcoming committee that would ordinarily alleviate the pain and hunger of traumatized victims.

President Biden deserves some of the blame for this surge for publicly announcing that his administration would promote more humane immigration policies. However, immigration from Mexico has declined dramatically in recent years despite Biden’s promotion of more humane immigration policies  – an outcome that reflects how the flow of immigration can be controlled when countries collaborate to achieve mutual goals.

President Biden, however, does not deserve all of the blame for the surge of Haitian immigrants. What energized the surge of Haitians was a devastating earthquake, the assassination of the country’s president, the failed Haitian economy, and the proliferation of crime --- clearly events beyond Biden’s control.  Moreover, history tells us that President Biden is not alone in encouraging more humane immigration policies. Indeed, numerous past presidents have issued executive orders to protect the status of various immigrants from different countries. [i]

While our political leaders decide on the ultimate disposition of Haitian immigrants, we should all be alarmed at the treatment that these immigrants have received at the Texas border.  Rather than comfort these immigrants who have experienced considerable trauma in their home countries and their travel to our border,  we instead decide to return them as quickly as possible to their home countries where their lives will remain in danger from crime and food deprivation.  On the other hand, the U.S. does have some choices to consider.

Our country is a nation of immigrants whose economic and intellectual growth has been fueled by the presence of immigrants.  As we ponder the decision to deport Haitian immigrants to their home countries, perhaps we need a brief reminder of the many ways in which immigrants have benefited our country:

·        Immigrants have often met the demand for labor shortages in such industries as food, hospitality, construction, and healthcare.  As a result of the pandemic and restrictive immigration policies, our nation is in dire need of more employees. Studies have shown that immigration provides a younger workforce, the entrepreneurial workers, and the skilled employees needed for essential industries such as healthcare, construction, agriculture, and food processing. [ii]

·        Non-citizens have historically served an important mission in defense of the U.S.  According to the Department of Defense, non-citizen recruits are likely to possess language and cultural skills that are of strategic importance to military operations outside of the U.S.  Between 2016 to 2020, there were 29, 970 non-citizens that were approved for naturalization in the U.S. military. [iii]  The top five countries represented by non-citizens in the military included Philippines, Mexico, China, South Korea and Jamaica.

·        The Social Security trust fund has been kept solvent in part from the substantial contributions made by unauthorized immigrant workers. Undocumented immigrants contributed $13 billion into the Social Security funds in 2016. While they make contributions, undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive social security benefits. [iv]

·        Immigrants have contributed substantially to scientific innovation in the U.S.:    In the United States since 1976, citizens of foreign countries have filed 25 percent to 30 percent of patents. Indeed, immigrants file patents at double the rate of native-born Americans because they are more likely to hold science and engineering degrees. [v]

Given the many contributions that immigrants have made to the U.S. and the current labor shortages across many industries, perhaps we should pause to remember the virtues inscribed in the Statue of Liberty and offer the Haitian immigrants the same opportunity that previous waves of immigrants have experienced upon arrival to our nation.  Indeed, if the situation were reversed and U.S. residents were forced to seek humanitarian assistance from our global neighbors, would we want to be greeted by troopers on horseback using a lariat upon our arrival?  Probably not.

Reference Notes

---

[i] Desilver, D. (2014, November 21).  Executive actions on immigration have long history, Pew Research Center, Accessed at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/21/executive-actions-on-immigration-have-long-history/

[ii] The Labor Law Review. (2021, August 26).  Immigration and labor shortages. Accessed at:   https://www.natlawreview.com/article/immigration-and-labor-shortages

[iii]   U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Services. Military Naturalization Statistics. Accessed on 9-24-21 at: https://www.uscis.gov/military/military-naturalization-statistics

[iv]  New American Economy.  Undocumented immigrants.  Accessed on 9-24-21 at:   https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/issues/undocumented-immigrants/#economic-contributors,-not-criminals

[v] Nowrasteh, A. (2020, May 14).  Don’t Ban H-1B Workers: They Are Worth Their Weight in Innovation, CATO Institute, Accessed at: https://www.cato.org/blog/dont-ban-h-1b-workers-they-are-worth-their-weight-patents  

🔴 Rapid City Central High School Students Organizing a Walkout

NDN Collective

So happy to learn about the Lakota Empowerment Club in Rapid City,
South Dakota Central High School Students and their September 12, 2021 walkout. Not unlike so many of our youth here in Texas, these are a group of young students who want their culture—that they refer to as their Oceti Sakown Essential Understandings—to get taught in the schools. They describe their public education as "Genocide Part 2," that involves erasing their cultures and language.

What a wonderful concept to advance, "Essential Understandings." And what a far cry from sterile discourses like "standards" and "skills."

Right now—and despite the anti-CRT agenda in Texas—the Texas State Board of Education is establishing a TEKS-aligned high school elective course in Native American Studies.

Thanks to Paco Robles for letting me know about this mobilization by youth. I hope that these students prevail.

-Angela Valenzuela

[Short Film] "Speaking Through Walls," co-directed by McAllen ISD Teacher Clarissa Riojas

I am so happy to get reacquainted with this excellent, high-quality video that I remember viewing back in 2018. It was co-directed by a former mentee of mine and McAllen Independent School District English language arts teacher and department chair extraordinaire, Ms. Clarissa Riojas.

Photo Credit: David Bacon

This short, 5-minute film “Speaking Through Walls,” was screened at Cine Del Sol in South Texas and featured, as well, in the Texas Sierra Club Newsletter. The concerns expressed in the video are as germane today as they were back in 2018 if not more so.

I am so proud of her many accomplishments and touched at how she taps into the soulful voices of our community in South Texas. Someday, as our ancestors once knew, we will have no need for this or any other border wall, allowing for free and open movement up and down the continent. When? I don't know. What I do know is the harm to our spirit when such walls divide us. 

On a personal note, Ms. Riojas and I go back to the earliest breaths of Academia Cuauhtli before we even had a name. She was a University of Texas at Austin undergraduate at the time and played the vital role of attending and taking minutes at our many meetings that led up to the establishment of our escuelita, our precious Saturday school, that is now in its eighth year of existence. She and I even published a short piece on our efforts back then titled, "No time to waste: We must advocate for books for our children."

There is still no time to waste. 

Students and mentees like Clarissa who move on to accomplish great things remind us of why we do what we do. My heart is full. 💗

-Angela Valenzuela 

#BridgesNotWalls

#OpenBorders

4 Dallas-area campuses named National Blue Ribbon Schools by Valeria Olivares

News like these bring such joy! I happen to know and adore the principal of Dallas ISD’s Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School and I've visited the campus, as well. These stories of these Title I schools illustrate that even in the context of a pandemic, caring school leaders that value students' home cultures and racial backgrounds coupled with high parent involvement and high expectations, our children in these schools can be college going. 

I shamelessly shout out here to Trini Garza principal, as well as my former Cultural Studies and Education program doctoral student at UT. 

Way to go, Dr. Macario Hernandez​! 

This must be your 6th such recognition or so. I'm losing count! And how fortunate for your students! I know they love you and all the grow-your-own, community-based teachers at Garza. Keep doing what you're doing. Your school is not just saving lives—as if that weren't sufficient—but you're helping young people achieve their dreams. Felicidades! Congratulations! 

You can learn more about the award from the Texas Education Agency website. The future is truly in great hands with principals like Dr. Hernandez and Dr. Ferguson Rodgers.

-Angela Valenzuela

4 Dallas-area campuses named National Blue Ribbon Schools

The coveted honor recognizes schools for high performance and closing achievement gaps.

Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy was just recognized as a 2021 National Blue Ribbon School for the first time since 2014. It's one of four Dallas-area campuses that received the National Blue Ribbon School honor Tuesday.(Emil Lippe / Special Contributor)

by Valeria Olivares | Dallas Morning News | Sept. 22, 2021

Four Dallas-area campuses received National Blue Ribbon School honors Tuesday, recognized for their high performance and work to close achievement gaps.

The schools, among 26 receiving the status in Texas, were Dallas ISD’s Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School at Mountain View and Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy; Mesquite ISD’s Porter Elementary School; and Christ the King Catholic School in Dallas.

The program selects campuses based on either how well students perform on standardized tests or how much progress they make in closing achievement gaps among student groups.

Students at Garza and Gilliam typically earn college credit while completing their high school diploma as well.

The majority of those at Garza will be first-generation college students, principal Macario Hernandez said. Among its 431 students, 88% are Hispanic and about 8% are Black. More than 85% come from families that are struggling financially.

The honor is “validation for all the hard work of our teachers and our students and our parents,” Hernandez said. He added that the status is a celebration for the teachers and students who persevered despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school staff values students’ home culture, racial backgrounds and lived experiences, he said, which allows teachers and students to build relationships that transform the experience for the entire campus community.

“It’s a family that really builds on each other’s strengths,” Hernandez said. “Humility and valuing and respecting and working with people with compassion and empathy can go a long way.”

Gilliam principal Gayle Ferguson Rodgers said the award is proof that a school can perform at high levels despite its at-risk population.

A majority of its students, most of whom are Black or Hispanic, also come from low-income families.

“This award is a celebration of everyone’s efforts as we do our mission here at Gilliam, which is to have college access and success for all,” she said.

Ferguson added that being named a National Blue Ribbon School “wasn’t a goal,” but that the school’s community only focuses on delivering on its mission every day.

The staff’s commitment to the school’s vision “Every Child. Every need. Whatever it takes.” became abundantly clear for Porter Elementary Principal Leeann Englert when she began working at the Mesquite school. She credited parents for pushing the school to meet high expectations.

“The campus exudes this vision in every conversation they have and in every decision they make,” she said in a statement. “Everyone is deeply invested in the success of our children.”

The schools join more than 9,000 others that the National Blue Ribbon Schools program has recognized in the past 39 years.

“I commend all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a written statement. “In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children.”

The four local campuses are among 302 public and 23 private schools honored across the U.S. on Tuesday.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.