What Are They Afraid Of?

     As a child, I remember hearing my father say, "If you want to hide knowledge from someone, put it in a book." After giving it thought, he was right. Think of all the things you learn from books, both fictional and nonfictional. No matter what genre or author or time period, there is something to be taught and something to be learned. So what does it mean when those in power ban certain books from the public? Recently, the school districts in Arizona have banned books like Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years by Bill Bigelow, "The Tempest" by Williams Shakespeare and other Mexican American heritage books.
 
 Curtis Acosta, a Latino Literature teacher at Tucson High Magnet School was interviewed about his views of the ban.When asked about the changes in curriculum, Acosta stated that the administration isn't just banning books, but also making limitations and changes to the teaching techniques.“Which means the alterations are not only what we teach, but how we teach,”says Acosta. Curtis was also asked why "The Tempest", of all plays by Shakespeare, were to be banned from the school. Acosta replied saying, “Shakespeare wrote a play that is clearly about colonization of "the new world" and there are strong themes of race, colonization, oppression, class and power that permeate the play, along with themes of love and redemption.”



     As we look from the history standpoint, we see that this isn't the first time an administration has banned books from the general public. During the Holocaust, The Nazis banned and burned all types of books so that the people would not be able to read them. Books such as All Quiet on the Western Front were banned and burned by Nazis in order to "purify" the nation. In actuality, the Nazis did this to brainwash and ensure control over the public. There was no room for revolutionary thoughts, questions or theories. Is this what is happening in 21st Century America?

    In Texas, there was controversy similar to this, regarding if the schools would still teach about the African Slavery. Their argument was that teaching of slavery was unnecessary. Lessons about the American Revolution and Civil War would still be intact, but there would be no talk of slavery. What are they trying to hide? The fact that Columbus didn't actually "discover" anything? The fact that Europeans stole the United States of America from the Native Americans who lived here for centuries before Columbus came? The fact that Africans were stolen from their homes and forced into slavery?

   When the author of Rethinking Columbus: Next 500 Years,Bill Begalow, heard that his book had been banned his response was, "The only other time a book of mine was banned was in 1968, when the apartheid government in South Africa banned ‘Strangers in Their Own Country,’ a curriculum I’d written that included a speech by then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela. We know what the South African regime was afraid of. What is the Tucson school district afraid of?" What a great question. What are the school districts afraid of? Are they afraid that the children will discover that they are not simply American? Maybe it's the fear that students will learn about what their ancestors went through to establish America as the powerful country it is today. Whatever the reason, it is important that each person learn the true story behind America. It's also vital that students learn about their heritage and the heritage of others. The fact is, the history behind America, or Africa, or Mexico may not be pretty or have a happy ending, but it is life, and affects each person everyday.

Works Cited

 

"Ethnic book ban even includes Shakespeare - New York Daily News." New York News, Traffic, Sports, Weather, Photos, Entertainment, and Gossip - Homepage - NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ethnic-studies-book-ban-arizona-include-shakespeare-tempest-article-1.1007105>.

"Jeff Biggers: Breaking: The "Madness" of the Tucson Book Ban: Interview With Mexican American Studies Teacher Curtis Acosta on The Tempest." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/tucson-ethnic-studies-_b_1210393.html>.

"Texas Board Of Education Approves More Conservative Curriculum." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/21/texas-board-of-education-_n_584697.html>.

"Texas textbook war: 'Slavery' or 'Atlantic triangular trade'? - CSMonitor.com." The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/0519/Texas-textbook-war-Slavery-or-Atlantic-triangular-trade>.