Image credit: Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies Education
The Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America condemn the introduction of California Assembly Bill 1468 (Zbur, Addis), which seeks to distort ethnic studies curricula to focus exclusively on the “domestic” experiences of historically marginalized groups in American society.
We oppose the proposed restriction to focus on “domestic” experiences, because foreign policy evidently affects various ethnic groups in the U.S. today. Supporters of AB 1468 specifically want to hinder students from gaining a comprehensive understanding of the global context behind marginalized groups and injustices, such as the Palestinian Nakba in 1948. This is especially unacceptable given the ongoing imperialist genocide being waged on Palestinians by Israel with full U.S. backing.
A comprehensive ethnic studies curriculum should encompass both domestic and international perspectives, to fully educate students on the interconnectedness of global struggles and histories. Additionally, such a curriculum must not shy away from talking about U.S. complicity in past crimes against humanity – including, but not limited to, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, the transatlantic slave trade, and the U.S. Empire’s destruction of working people’s homes worldwide, such as in Vietnam, Korea, Laos, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Palestine. Understanding these contexts is crucial for developing critical thinking on how the past affects marginalized groups in the U.S. today, and why state-sponsored reparations are long overdue for various communities. AB 1468, on the other hand, dissuades these discussions and censors critical thinking.
The backers of AB 1468 have explicitly stated that ethnic studies classes should not discuss Israel and Palestine, and that they “don’t think that ethnic studies is a foreign policy discipline.” This constitutes an unacceptable erasure of the U.S. Empire’s responsibility for ongoing and past violence worldwide.
Silicon Valley DSA condemns AB 1468 as an attack on the foundational values of ethnic studies itself, as highlighted in the 2021 Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum: for students to “challenge racist, bigoted, discriminatory, and imperialist/colonial beliefs and practices on multiple levels” and “connect ourselves to past and contemporary social movements that struggle for social justice.”
We stand in solidarity with all marginalized communities, and all victims of U.S. Empire. We commit to supporting their struggles for comprehensive representation in educational curricula, and their needs for material reparations more broadly.
Join us in opposing AB 1468 by emailing your state legislators.
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