On Fronteras:
- The importance of including accurate Mexican-American history in school curriculums.
- An Austin bar shuts down a Latino DJ group for playing Latin music.
- Two North Texas artists are working to beautify the image many people have about life on the Texas/Mexico border.
Teaching Mexican American Studies In Schools
When history is taught, shouldn’t all of it be taught? That’s a question being debated in Texas and Arizona. A U.S. District Court judge is expected to rule soon on the constitutionality of Arizona’s ban on teaching Mexican American studies in public schools. In 2010, a group of Republican state lawmakers there argued that the classes created resentments towards other races, and even in some cases, promoted the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Here in Texas, though, educators are working to teach public school students about Hispanics’ often-overlooked role in shaping American history. I sat down to discuss the issue with Marco Cervantes, director of the Mexican American Studies Program at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Lilliana Saldaña, Associate Professor in Bicultural-Bilingual Studies at the UTSA College of Education and Human Development.
Austin DJ’s Told To Stop Playing Latin Music
An unusual incident took place at a new downtown bar in Austin on July 28th. Members of a DJ group made up of Latino women say the bar shut down the set they’d been hired to play. But as KUT’s Ashley Lopez reports, it’s also brought up a complicated issue in Austin and that’s the city’s relationship with the Latino community.
Daughters Of The Border
Drugs, immigration and gangs - that's much of what we hear about the Texas/Mexico border. A couple of North Texas artists are hoping to change that through their art. KERA’s Hady Mawajdeh has their story.
