STATEMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT

Context: The statement was made in light of the actions made by Cesar E. Chavez and the response of our University of changing our building name; that was made in his honor.

The recent revelations involving Cesar Chavez are deeply disturbing and painful. The Mexican American Studies Department at the University of Arizona stands resolutely with survivors and their families, joining them in the pursuit of truth, justice, and healing.

To this end, immediate redress is needed.

• We call on the institution to cover the name of the building on the UA campus to mitigate its traumatizing effect on students and survivors.
• We call on faculty to renew its commitment to scholarship created with accountability.

Going forward,

• Any renaming of the building calls for a robust process involving faculty, students, and community members to avoid erasure of the contributions of the Latinx community to the state and the institution’s land grant mission.
• We look forward to working with our administration on the renaming of the building.

True progress is shaped by the collective, not by any one individual. We will continue our work to dismantle harmful structures and hold power accountable. Equity isn’t just a goal; it’s a movement of the many.

Context: The statement was in response to the police brutality that has affected our communities. 

Letter to our community -Faculty, staff and students in the Department of Mexican American Studies are heartbroken over the loss of recent victims of police violence and stand in solidarity with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the thousands of allies who have taken to the streets to protest police brutality, injustice, and racism. We condemn the escalation of conditions that have created the lack of safety for all minoritized communities in the United States such as Blacks, Latinos, and immigrants, and the escalation of violence against protesters and journalists throughout the country who have been exercising their rights and civic duty voicing their...

Context: The statement was in response to the showing of the documentary " Precious Knowledge" in classrooms. 

It has come to our attention that some educators continue to show the documentary Precious Knowledge in schools and in different venues in Tucson and across the nation. Allegations of sexual assault have been leveled against one of the filmmakers since its Tucson premiere at the Fox Theatre on March 24, 2011. As a department, we resolve not to show this documentary, nor do we support the showing of Precious Knowledge. We make this statement in alignment with the principles outlined in our departmental mission, “We consider social change imperative for the empowerment of Chicanx, Mexican, Indigenous, and Latinx populations who are disproportionately impacted by legacies of colonialism...