PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: June 25, 2010 More information contact:
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, 414-736-2835 A teachable moment: Milwaukee Public
Schools join national boycott against Arizona's racist laws As
MPS parents and children held signs reading, "Wisconsin is Not Arizona"
the Milwaukee Public School Board, representing 82,500 students, the
largest and most ethnically diverse public school system in Wisconsin,
voted 5-2 with one
abstention to condemn Arizona's racial profiling legislation, SB1070,
and HB2281 which bans ethnic studies. The Board also voted to support a
national boycott of Arizona until these laws are repealed. Arizona's SB1070 has ignited a national boycott movement,
similar to a previous national boycott of Arizona, when the state
legislature refused to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a
national holiday. Arizona's'
SB1070 legalizes discrimination by forcing local and state law
enforcement to question and arrest individuals who they "reasonably
suspect" are undocumented and requires all persons to carry papers
proving their immigration status or risk arrest and fines. The law also
criminalizes immigrants, including children. Arizona's HB 2281
outlaws the teaching of ethnic studies to children and acts of
solidarity between different ethnic groups. As
Director Terry Falk, MPS board member explained, "this resolution
directly relates to public education and children." He explained that
SB1070 requires schools to inquire about a student's immigration
status-inconsistent with our Supreme Court laws that provide equal
educational opportunities for all children (K-12) and in alignment with
Wisconsin's own recent passage of in-state tuition rates for
undocumented students that graduate from Wisconsin schools. He affirmed
the danger of similar laws gaining ground in other states like
Wisconsin. Director
Larry Miller, who introduced the resolution stated, "Back in the 1960s,
I promised myself, when I marched with Father Gropi crossing the 16th
Street bridge for open housing, that anytime I saw injustice I would
oppose it." Director
Peter Blewett, reported he had received positive comments from
Milwaukee residents and questioned the logic of people who called from
around the state to say, "why are you sticking your nose in Arizona's
business? "and he asked: "Why are they sticking their nose in
Milwaukee's business?" Director Blewett spoke forcefully about the
importance of challenging hate and reaffirming the value of all families
and children in our schools. In a
prior committee meeting, an MPS teacher, close to tears, described how
two of her students had a parent deported and the devastating impact
this had on the children and their academic performance. According
to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Director of Voces de la Frontera, "I
applaud the MPS board for their principled stance against
discrimination. When I saw a few members vote "no", I recalled the
spirit of Martin Luther King's letter from the Birmingham jail, where he
essentially said that the greatest obstacle to social progress is not
our enemies, but good people who fail to act. The Arizona resolution was
a teachable moment and the MPS board members who voted for this
resolution affirmed MPS's commitment to its children, their families and
the values of justice and equality that are fundamental to our national
identity."
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