Tucson Schools and America's Foundation of Genocide, Racism and Ethnic Repression

By Joe Navarro - Guest Commentator BlackCommentator.com

I read with amusement the BC commentary on Tucson schools, "Applaud Tucson's Unified School District!  Now, Confiscate Shakespeare's Plays!" by Dr. Lenore J. Daniels. It was a great satirical approach to questioning how American's view what is foreign and what is not.  In the United States the "other" is a social construct that is defined by ethnicity, race and national origin.  The reality is if you are African American, Latino, Asian, Native American Indian, you are categorized as "other" (than Euro-American).   However, there is another issue here.  If ethnic studies is divisive and promotes hatred (according to Arizona) then why doesn't this extend to Euro-American studies?  As I see it, America was built and expanded on a foundation of genocide, racism and ethnic repression. Some of the founders of this nation, including it's first presidents, were slave owners.  Andrew Jackson had a notorious reputation for attacks on Native American Indians and displacing them from their lands in order to have access to precious minerals, leading to a historical tragedy known as the "Trail of Tears." President Polk earned his reputation for a massive land grab, in the name of Manifest Destiny, where he used U.S. troops to invade northern Mexico and stole nearly half of Mexico's territory.  The U.S. has a legacy of historical figures and incidents, ranging of the Sand Creek massacre, anti-Chinese immigration laws, Jim Crow laws, and the likes of Kit Carson, who was an American hero, whose legendary status was enhanced because he was such an efficient Indian and Mexican Killer.  U.S. history is full of Euro-American's who have achieved heroic status because of their actions, which were often racist and xenophobic.  It amazes me to know that this nation honors these men, from Columbus to Custer, and some states still display confederate flags. The state of Arizona has earned a reputation for being blatantly anti-Mexican and anti-immigrant.  From round ups of any brown-skinned person (citizen or not) to banning books that positively represent Mexicans and Mexican Americans and provide an alternative accounting of American history are indications of an effort to sanitize (whiten it) history and reassert (back to pre-civil rights) Anglo-Euro-American supremacy.  In the long run this has tremendous implications for the status and socio-political relations between all ethnic groups.  It tells young white people that they are superior over the "other," and tells people of color that they are inferior.   The new policy suggests that the ban will prevent racism.  I would argue that it promotes racism.  Once it is okay to ban Mexicans, who will be next? BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Joe Navarro, is a 21st century Chicano activist teacher and poet. Click here to contact Mr. Navarro.