Ethnic Studies Now

Thank you for making calls and sending emails. So far we have been able to send 600+ emails and 200+ calls but I believe we can do better! Can you send another email and make another phone call? It's easy to do, just…. 

call: (916) 623-4866. Tell Governor Brown to take a stand and support Ethnic Studies. California is NOT Arizona. Use/Share this ESN number so we can keep track of how many people call. Then press "1" for English, and "4" to speak with a rep. Say you want the Governor to sign AB 101 into law. If you get voicemail, it means the Governor's line is busy, so just keep calling back. There are a lot of bills on the Governor's desk, so a lot of calls being made.

2. Email Governor Brown (there shouldn't be any more bouncing, as we removed the cc to the Gov's staffer whose box was full):

3. Letters to the Editor
Please also consider writing a Letter to the Editor to one of the following newspapers about the importance of AB 101 and Ethnic Studies. You can use the email to the Governor as an example. Please let us know if the article is published. How to submit a Letter to the Editor:

Ethnic studies courses benefit all students

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/sep/26/ethnic-studies-education-students/

By Thandeka K. Chapman & Tricia M. Gallagher-Geurtsen | 12:01 a.m. Sept. 26, 2015 | Updated, 5 p.m. | Sept. 25, 2015

On June 9, 2015, the Board of Education of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) approved a resolution for an Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee to begin meeting immediately to “develop recommendations as to how ethnic studies can be implemented and accessible to all students in the San Diego Unified School District throughout their K-12 educational experience.” Why ethnic studies and why is this curriculum important for all of our youth in San Diego?
The support for ethnic studies in K-12 schools in California has been growing for the past few years. Briefly, ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study through social science, history and literature of how different populations have engaged in and experienced building what is now the United States of America. Although the student population of San Diego Unified School District is extremely diverse representing many ethnic groups and more than 60 languages and dialects, our social science, history and language arts texts and curriculum are not reflective of this diversity.

Latinos Fighting Republican Racism by Voter Registration

Latinos are fighting  Republican Racism  by voter registration

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/20/1421435/-Latinos-are-fighting-Republican-racism-by-registering-voters

Trump and the US Constitution

Speaking Spanish, “Anchor Babies” and the US Constitution

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Jimmy Franco Sr.

Donald Trump has recently declared that Spanish should not be allowed to be spoken within the US and the majority of the Republican candidates have fallen in line with him and agreed. The sole exception was Jeb Bush who Trump had berated and harshly criticized after he gave a Florida campaign speech in Spanish. Donald scolded Bush and stated that he should not be “speaking Mexican as English is the language of the US”. Marco Rubio later gave a weak response that it is all right to use Spanish. Before opening one’s mouth and blurting out campaign policies and

The majority of GOP candidates supports dismantling the 14th Amendment.

inaccuracies, Trump needs to utilize the US Constitution as a point of reference to avoid sounding like a fool. Apparently, he did not heed the traditional advice of “no investigation, no right to speak”. Donald simply spouted more ignorant slanders by maligning the use of Spanish, opposing the right of US Latinos to speak it and even advocating a ban on its use within the US. The Spanish language is rooted in 500 years of history, culture, commerce and even geographical use within this country. Trump and the majority of other Republican candidates are also supporting another demand to restrict legal rights by either eliminating or fundamentally changing the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which presently sanctions birthright citizenship to US-born children of immigrant parents. Extreme right-wing elements derisively call these children “anchor babies” and are demanding that their citizenship rights be eliminated and they be deported. Adding to this cesspool of bigotry is GOP front runner Ben Carson who just stated that a Muslim should not be president due to their religion, and yet, Carson is a die-hard Seventh Day Adventist. Meanwhile, Trump recently stated that perhaps Obama could be a secret Muslim and not an American. There are two opposing perspectives and positions regarding these issues of language rights and birthright citizenship. One perspective and its positions are in legal accordance and agreement with the US Constitution, while the positions which Trump’s white nationalists on the extreme political right are promoting are based upon unconstitutional grounds. 

The historical struggle for the equality of languages continues

Su Voto es Su Voz

William C. Velásquez Institute   In the words of Willie Velasquez,  "Su Voto Es Su Voz"! Your vote is your voice  Register to vote today! Register a family member. Register Online Here ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to Reject Trump's Foolish Plan    Register a Mexican to Vote   Now by donating $16 for 2016!  Copy and Send this Email to Your List or Post on Your Facebook!

The Radical Roots of the Great Delano Grape Strike

 David Bacon
September 20, 2015
http://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-radical-roots-of-great-grape-strike_20.html

This is an expanded version of an article in the Insight section of the San Francisco Chronicle:  http://sfchron.cl/1QHt9Jt




Larry Itliong.  Photo:  Bob Fitch Photo Archive © Stanford University Libraries


Fifty years ago the great grape strike started in Delano, when Filipino pickers walked out of the fields on September 8, 1965.  Mexican workers joined them two weeks later.  The strike went on for five years, until all California table grape growers were forced to sign contracts in 1970.

The strike was a watershed struggle for civil and labor rights, supported by millions of people across the country.  It helped breathe new life into the labor movement, opening doors for immigrants and people of color.  Beyond the fields, Chicano and Asian American communities were inspired to demand rights, and many activists in those communities became organizers and leaders themselves.

California's politics have changed profoundly in 50 years.  Delano's mayor today is a Filipino.  That would have been unthinkable in 1965, when growers treated the town as a plantation.

Invisible No More

INVISIBLE NO MORE Images by David Bacon Union Hall Gallery September 12 2015 SECOND SATURDAY 2126 K Street Sacramento Carol Davydova - (916) 217-7500. Call (916) 448-2452 for weekday group tours. These photographs show migrants at work, at home and in action, defending their rights -- not in isolation from the communities around them, but with their support.  The combination of images and words has the power to move us in a way that neither can alone.  Its purpose is to win support for migrants in a world that, at best, treats them as invisible, and at worst demonizes them.   The Right to Stay Home - justice for migrants and sending communities - a presentation by David Bacon in Berkeley CA on May 5, 2015 http://uslaboragainstwar.org/Article/37224/the-right-to-stay-home-justice-for-migrants-and-sending-communities THE REALITY CHECK - David Bacon blog http://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com

Students, activism, and the Constitution

“Raising Issues About Citizens, Activism and the Constitution”

Friday, September 18, 2015

Orchard Suite, University Union
3:00pm-4:00pm

Dr. Duane Campbell, Sacramento State Professor Emeritus of Bilingual/Multicultural Education, will address how activism, action, and reflection are essential to efforts to protect, defend and extend our democracy. The courts alone will not protect our democracy, especially in light of the Supreme Court rulings on Citizens United and the Voting Rights Act. Thus, it falls to each generation to protect democracy – are you going to be part of the problem or part of the solution? 

Reception to follow after the talk.

Sponsored by:

The Serna Center

RCAF

DACA Preparation

Mass Deportation: How Do You Deport 11 Million People?

Good video.  Ignores the 1,000,000 Mexicans deported in the 1930's, including over 500,000  US citizens,and the 1,000,000 Mexicans deported in Operation Wetback in the 1950's.

Ethnic Studies Bill Passes Senate- On to the Governor

Thanks to your constant support AB 101 Ethnic Studies passed today in the California State Senate!!! It now goes to the Governor's desk for signature. We are receiving word that he may veto the bill. Please join us and take action!

1. Call the Governor:
(916) 623-4866. Tell Governor Brown to take a stand and support Ethnic Studies. California is NOT Arizona. Use/Share this ESN number so we can keep track of how many people call. Then press "1" for English, and "4" to speak with a rep. Say you want the Governor to sign AB 101 into law. If you get voicemail, it means the Governor's line is busy, so just keep calling back.

2. Email Governor Brown:

Letters to the Editor
Please also consider writing a Letter to the Editor to one of the following newspapers about the importance of AB 101 and Ethnic Studies. You can use the email to the Governor as an example. Please let us know if the article is published. How to submit a Letter to the Editor:

• Sacramento Bee: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article2571437.html
• San Fransisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/submissions/
• San Diego Union-Tribune: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/letters-commentaries
• Los Angeles Time: http://www.latimes.com/oe-howtosubmitoped-story.html

Upcoming Events

StoryCorps Launch in Sacramento

Join us for the official 
StoryCorps Launch Party!

Thursday, September 10th
11 AM to 1 PM
Sacramento Public Library’s
Belle Cooledge branch 
5600 S Land Park Drive
Sacramento, CA 95822
(There is ample free parking 
in their lot.)

We’ll offer tours of the
mobilebooth, hear from StoryCorps staff and more! 
Grab a lunch from Mama Kim 
Eat's food truck before you 
head home. 

Details at capradio.org/events.

The Grape Strike That Transformed a Nation: 50 years Later

Steve Magagnini, The Sacramento Bee

Philip Vera Cruz 

On Sept. 8, 1965, Lorraine Agtang, her family and other Filipino grape pickers walked out of their fields to protest a cut in their pay from $1.40 to $1.25 an hour. Twelve days later, labor organizer Cesar Chavez and more than 1,200 Mexican workers joined the strike that led to the first United Farm Workers contracts with growers in 1970.


Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article34268826.html#storylink=cpy

Sacramento State professor emeritus Duane Campbell, who worked for the UFW from 1972 to 1980, said the strike “totally changed labor politics and Latino politics.” Inspired by the events of that September and the impact of the international table grape boycott that followed, thousands of people of different races and ethnicities devoted their lives to activism and nonviolent protest.

“It was a training ground for organizers who spread to hundreds of different fields – a large number of Latino legislators worked with the UFW,” Campbell said. “The strike and boycott awakened Latinos, ‘the sleeping giant of California politics,’ triggering the Chicano movement and the creation of Sacramento State  bilingual education department.”

Bernie Sanders Calls Out Trump on Racism

Sanders Calls for Immigration Reform, Rips Trump Attacks on Immigrants

SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

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MUSCATINE, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told a Latino roundtable meeting here on Friday that “mean and degrading” remarks about immigrants by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are “unacceptable.”

Sanders also faulted the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for refusing to consider a Senate-passed immigration reform bill passed by a bipartisan majority of 68-32 in 2013. “It is incomprehensible that the U.S. House has not yet taken up the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate with my support,” Sanders said. “We need legislation which takes 11 million undocumented people living in the United States out of the shadows and puts them on a path to citizenship.”

Turning to Trump’s attacks on immigrants, Sanders said that “honest people can disagree on immigration reform but candidates running for president should not stoop to racism and demagoguery to win votes.”

In a statement, Sanders said: “This country has experienced racism for hundreds of years. I would have hoped that by the year 2015 leading candidates for president like Mr. Trump would campaign on their ideas as to how they can address our serious problems, and not by trying to divide the country with racist and demagogic appeals. Clearly Trump is scapegoating the Hispanic community. Immigrants are not responsible,” Sanders stressed, “for the disappearing American middle class, the Wall Street collapse brought on by huge financial institutions’ greed and illegal behavior, the war in Iraq, income inequality or climate change.” 

At the roundtable discussion, Sanders called Trump’s comments “mean” and “denigrating” to an entire group of people and accused him of using Latinos as “whipping boys” to distract attention from real problems confronting the country. He called it “absurd, racist and wrong” to blame immigrants for the nation’s problems.

“That is absolutely unacceptable,” the senator added during the roundtable discussion at the Muscatine County Boxing Club. “That kind of discourse should be removed from our politics.”

In recent weeks, Trump has proposed the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. as well as their American-born children. He called for amending the Constitution to end automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants living illegally in the U.S. He has denounced immigrants from Mexico and other Central American nations as “really bad.” He also has vilified immigrants from Latin America in general as responsible for “bringing drugs, bringing crime” into the U.S. He also has branded them as “rapists.”

Watch the video: 

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