From the Executive Committee of MALCS January 30, 2012 Last week
important works of literature, history and philosophy by world-
renowned writers and scholars such as Leslie Marmon Silko,
Sherman Alexie, Ofelia Zepeda, Paulo Freire, Rodolfo Acuña,
Carmen Tafolla and others were removed from classrooms and some
libraries in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). The
perspectives and insights about diverse ethnic, racial and
gender communities contained in these works as well as the
penetrating visions of human community they offer contribute in
Arizona, as they do elsewhere, to cultivating in students
appreciation for difference and diversity, knowledge of wide-
ranging ideas and fearlessness in engaging with the ideas of
others. The TUSD Board’s action in banning and removing these
works, in contrast, promotes fear and suspicion about select
ethnic and racial groups and fear of free and democratic
discussion and debate. Such attitudes have no place in the
public school system that serves ALL children. The T