Banned books find home with human rights group
Michelle Chance
On Jun. 24 Librotraficante, a cause against the banning of ethnic books, and the Puente Human Rights Movement, a non-profit organization whose aim is to empower the migrant community, teamed up together for the grand opening of Phoenix’s first underground library.
Located at 13th street and Van Buren, the Puente Underground Library was founded in response to HB 2281.
Written by Tom Horne, former Arizona superintendent of public instruction and signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in May 2010, HB 2281 prohibits ethnic study programs in all public schools in Arizona and bans all books within these programs.
The library is a place where community members can access banned books that would otherwise, be unavailable to them,” says Alexis Aguirre, coordinator at the library. “Kids that would’ve been enrolled in the Mexican American studies program now have the opportunity to read these books that are no longer allowed in school.”
First developed after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, ethnic studies have been taught nationwide ever since.
Jaime Herrera, professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at MCC, explains the ramifications of banning ethnic studies, “To ignore this very specific group of people’s history is to deny them very specific American rights.”
According to HB 2281, “A school district or charter school in this state shall not include in its program of instruction any courses that include any of the following:
