Chicano Studies Ban
Banning Mexican-American studies in Arizona was racist, judge rules
Produced and edited by Alexander Stockton
VICE News Tonight on HBO
After Arizona Republicans learned that a school district in their state offered a Mexican-American studies program, they started to worry the courses were teaching students to hate white people. But when state Republicans passed a law banning the program in 2010, they were the ones being racist, a federal judge ruled late Tuesday night.
βThe Court is convinced that decisions regarding the MAS [Mexican-American studies] program were motivated by a desire to advance a political agenda by capitalizing on race-based fears,β Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote in a scathing opinion.