If enough people just stand up to these unfair and bigoted laws, maybe we can make a difference. But then again, the school district that did this is in Arizona, a place which seems to want to compete with Mississippi and Alabama when it comes to sheer bigotry:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- An underground library effort is underway in Albuquerque to get banned Hispanic books back into Arizona.
Acclaimed Mexican-American author Rudolfo Anaya helped box up books for the journey to Arizona's underground libraries after the Tuscon Unified School District recently banned Hispanic books, including Anaya's famous novel, "Bless Be Ultima."
"It's been called a classic," Anaya said. "It's been read all over the country, the world. I have translations in China."
Mexican-American studies were banned in Tucson almost a year ago. In response, a group called Librotraficantes formed in Houston to bring Hispanic novels back to Arizona.The caravan stopped to pick up books in Albuquerque.
"That's what we will continue to do. We're not going to stand by and allow our history and our culture to be banned from the classroom," Anaya said.
Anaya's books have been used for decades in classrooms across the country.
"Diversity is good. Diversity is a fact, and the way you are going to learn more about your neighbor is by reading your literature, knowing their history, knowing who they are," he said.
