immigration status, what makes ―anyone‖ suspicious? Is it a question of skin color? Is it a matter of language? If one has an accent that is not deemed American enough, will that be grounds for interrogation? Will Canadians and Europeans be the focus of this legislation, or will Latinos and other immigrants of color continue to be the only targets of this law? In the words of Omar Jadwat, a staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project ―SB 1070 is a disastrous law that would endanger public safety, increase racial profiling, and create an un-American 'show me your papers' regime if allowed to go into effect…Every day this law would be in effect would be a day too long.‖14 The Tidal Basin Review stands in agreement. It would seem that the torch of freedom held in Lady Liberty‘s hand is dimming like a signal flare tossed on the briny skin of the sea. Apparently, one unjust law is not enough for the Sun Devil State. On Wednesday, May 12, 2010, Governor Brewer extended her almost surrealistic assault on people of color in Arizona by banning ethnic studies (H.B. 2281).15 This law prohibits the teaching of courses that:
Promote the overthrow of the United States government. Promote resentment toward a race or class of people. Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group. Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
While it may come as a surprise to some Arizona lawmakers, America is not a ―melting pot.‖ America is a glorious gumbo. The study and practice of ethnic solidarity is, and will continue to be, an irrevocable fact of life in our land. It is as real as Prince Nelson Roger‘s commitment to the color purple and as wholesome as harmony on a Grand Ole Opry stage. Our country is a coat of many colors, and it is that multicolored coat that makes our country golden.
14. National Immigration Law Center, ―NILC and Civil Rights Groups Ask Court to Block Implementation of Arizona's Racial Profiling Law During Legal Battle,‖ National Immigration Law Center, June 5, 2010, http://www.nilc.org/pubs/news-releases/nr017.htm (accessed July 6, 2010). 15. Nicole Santa Cruz, ―Arizona bill targeting ethnic studies signed into law,‖ Los Angeles Times, May 12, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/12/nation/la-na-ethnic-studies20100512 (accessed July 6, 2010).
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