Arizona Ethnic Studies Network, founded by educators from across the state, will gather at the State Capitol on Wednesday to protest the decision by a Tucson school district that prohibits the teaching of dozens of books used in the now banned Mexican American studies program.
About two dozen educators, students and concerned citizens will read aloud from several of the banned books at Wesley Bolin Plaza and on the State Capitol grounds from 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 29.
Novelist and university lecturer Stella Pope Duarte, State Sen. David Lujan and Ahwatukee Foothills-based playwright James E. Garcia are among those scheduled to read on Wednesday.
The Feb. 29 event at the Arizona State Capitol is part of a national read-in in support of “ethnic studies, critical pedagogy and thoughtful education.” Teachers, civil rights activists and authors from across the country have strongly criticized the passage of Arizona House Bill 2281, which led to the shutdown of the TUSD Mexican American studies program in January.
• Briefs compiled from staff and wire reports.
