Read! Resist!

By now, most people have heard about the 80+ (mostly Chicana/o) books and speeches that are forbidden from being taught in Tuscon, Arizona. The Mexican-American studies program has been effectively shut down after an ugly, racist, classist battle.

The list contains works by civil rights leaders, noted historians, Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners...even Shakespeare!

It's outrageous, and it's completely out of touch with the makeup of the Tucson student population, where minority students comprise up to 95% of the student body in some schools.

We can't just turn a blind eye to what's happening in Tucson.

Read & Resist Tucson is a yearlong reading challenge taking place from now until the end of January 2013. It's very informal: the only rule is that you read and review at least one book from the banned list, then add your link to the review database. You can read as many or as few as you want.

We need to get people talking about and celebrating these banned books.