11 Faith leaders’ letter: TUSD Board should support Ethnic Studies program

by David Safier

Mari Herraras of the Weekly posted the entire text of a letter from Tucson area faith leaders "join[ing] the growing chorus of voices in defense of Ethnic Studies."

One thing to note before you read the excerpts below: only one of the 11 clergymembers' names sounds Hispanic to my ear. I only point that out to indicate the unsurprising fact that support for Ethnic Studies goes far beyond the Latino community. Pride in the program transcends ethnicity.

It's a very strong letter, urging the Board to support the program, join the MAS lawsuit (which TUSD hasn't done), meet with MAS students, teachers and the community to strengthen the program, and "Publicly correct the misinformation disseminated about Mexican-American Studies at TUSD."

Some excerpts (though you should follow the link and read the whole thing):

The recent release of the audit has only affirmed what we have long believed – that the Ethnic Studies program is a valuable educational program that has fostered high academic achievement for its students, and has produced engaged community members.

[snip]

As people of faith, we recognize how important our history and stories are to us. Scriptures are nothing more than the passed down stories of people who wanted their children and their children’s children to remember the ways in which God had moved within their lives and in the course of human history to bring forth freedom from slavery, forgiveness from retribution, love from hate, and grace from sin.

[snip]

Because we understand how important our history is, we affirm the desire of others to learn their history. As a community of diverse religions, languages, and cultures, it is necessary that we not forget the richness that resides in the history of our people. The Ethnic Studies Program, by enriching the education of our youth, enriches our larger community and teaches us about the ever-important principles of tolerance and civil dialogue.

Good stuff.