The call went out for the occupation of the Tucson Unified School District’s central offices yesterday by Raza propagandist David Abie Morales in his blog, The Three Sonorans, on the Tucson Citizen yesterday. He wrote, “OccupyTUSD will begin with a daily protest from 4-6pm at the Tucson Unified School District headquarters at 1010 E. Tenth St, on the NE corner of Broadway and Park.”
One protester showed up. The lone female protester held a sign out in front of the district’s central offices from approximately 4:00 until 6:45 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lupita Garcia, addressed a group of between 70 to 100 student, who had left their classrooms at Cholla High School and marched to the central offices in protest of the suspension of Mexican American Studies classes.
Dr. Garcia has been a target of the Three Sonorans screeds. He attacks her regularly on his blog as a “vendida” or traitor to her “race.”
Dr. Garcia, an immigrant from Mexico told the students that the discrimination that they will face in the future is not about the color of their skin, but the educational level they will achieve. She explained to the students that skipping class will only prove to make them targets of discrimination later in life. She explained that she was a perfect example that education can lift anyone in this country out of poverty and into a position of influence.
“I really connected with the students. They were really polite. The principal was told by the students that they appreciated our talk. I told them that every student needed to study American History. Contrary to the lies from the Three Sonorans, I never told them to go back to Mexico.”
Garcia told the students, “I want you to have all the opportunities that I didn’t have. Or that I could have had. And you have a great opportunity to get a great education. And that is how you fight city hall.”
“You are who you are and no one can take that away from you. Your character, your ethnicity, your culture.”
A female student told Garcia, “You guys are pinpointing us to the kind of education we need. It’s not always about the math, it’s not always about the science. It’s not always about the English. Some of us want to major in Mexican American studies, to keep our generation going. We study in our classes, every class. Not just what you guys want us to know.” Dr. Garcia responded, “If you want your high school diploma, that doesn’t keep you from learning about your culture.”
The students will receive unexcused absences. Cholla High School is a failing school which received a “D” by the Arizona Department of Education.
The Three Sonorans wrote of the walkout and occupation of TUSD, “Pedicone and his posse will also be held accountable, including Dr. Garcia who calls the MAS courses anti-American and yet this is who Pedicone put in charge of supervising the federally court ordered MAS program.”
“In the end our community will win, and people like Pedicone may end up in serious trouble with the feds. Racism against Latinos will not be taken lightly.”
“The daily protests at TUSD begin today at 4pm.”
Approximately 52,000 students, and slightly over one million Tucson metropolitan area residents did not participate in the walkout.