Protect Our Education - Protect Our Youth by Kristian
As the fist of fascism is looming over us all, our right to ethnic studies education is at risk. Speaking from the perspective of a student organizer, it’s only getting worse. President Trump vowed to defund and target education that speaks of the contribution made by oppressed communities in the U.S. Dissent and student activism have already been heavily targeted. It's up to us to protect our education; it's up to us to protect our peers and our future.
We live in a state in which educational institutions have a target locked on their back. The more truth you tell in a classroom, the more likely you are to be forcefully removed. We must beg the question, how can freedom be a value of our state when our education is being shackled by the same hand? Whether it’s the case of Mahmound Kahlil or the countless educators under political attack, these are the same forces working in direct opposition to the working class and those conscious within it.
Former student of Columbia University, Mohmoud Kahlil was a student activist specifically targeted because of his efforts in the Palestinian struggle. Stolen from his pregnant wife and family by ICE agents, the school did nothing to protect Kahlil. This event is not one of a kind, but it is one of many. Educational institutions must be sanctuaries of truth, knowledge, and freedom. Students in all schools should feel empowered to take a stand on issues with trust that they and their being are protected.
Your repression is at the consequence of truth.
Not only are our physical bodies under attack, but the content within our education is heading backwards. Assembly Bill 715 is a racist, anti-Palestinian censorship bill that hopes to stop educators in their role to teach and share stories of communities being obliterated by the Israeli and U.S governments. Since its inception at SF State in 1969, ethnic studies has been on constant defense because of repressive policy. We must fight for a future in which our people's hxstory is not an aspect but the fundamental base of our education system.
Some argue that political repression is stemming from a want to keep tradition and legacy. I argue that our ability to utilize ethnic studies to develop frameworks to navigate these systems is an immovable right we have in this country. We owe it to the freedomfighters before us, the movement in all avenues must go forward.
Our most passionate teachers are those most targeted. Our most valuable courses are the most vulnerable. Protecting ethnic studies is protecting our youth; protecting our youth is protecting our future!
