Librotraficante

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Librotraficante (English: Book Trafficker)[1] was an American protest movement. It began in response to a 2012 decision by the Arizona Superintendent for Public Instruction calling for the removal of books from classes that "promote the overthrow of the United States government, foster racial and class-based resentment, favor one ethnic group over another, or advocate ethnic solidarity". Protesters organized a caravan which transported more than 1,000 banned books into Arizona. The caravan was relaunched in 2017 to coincide with a hearing about ethnic-studies courses in the Arizona Supreme Court. The protest received the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award at the American Library Association's Midwinter meeting in 2013.

History[]

In January 2012, Arizona Superintendent for Public Instruction John Huppenthal ruled that Mexican-American studies classes being held in the Tucson Unified School District violated Arizona law ARS 15-112, which forbade classes that "promote the overthrow of the United States government, foster racial and class-based resentment, favor one ethnic group over another, or advocate ethnic solidarity".[2][3][4] As a result of this ruling, the classes were "converted ... to standard grade-level courses with a general curriculum", and books used in these courses were removed from classrooms and "moved to the district storage facility".[3] These actions were met with significant protests, including school walk-outs.[5]

The Librotraficante movement was one of the protests arising from the decision. Led by author and activist Tony Diaz,[4] the movement comprised a caravan from Houston, Texas to Tucson in March 2012. The caravan included authors of books removed from classrooms as well as intellectual-freedom activists, and was intended to "smuggle [the removed books] back into the state" while raising awareness of the decision and promoting Latino literature.[1] It gathered over one thousand copies of the books to create "underground libraries".[4] The caravan made stops in El Paso, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico along its route, and established a library with some of the books at a Tucson youth center.[6]

Diaz launched the movement with a one-minute, forty-one-second video that introduced three new words to the political discussion: "Librotraficante" ("someone who smuggles banned books back into Arizona"), "wet-book" (a book smuggled into the state by the caravan for use in "underground classes to illegally conduct Latino literary studies"), and "dime book" (a paperback once valued at $10 "but now invaluable 'thanks to your fascist laws, Arizona'").[7]

The caravan was relaunched in 2017 to coincide with a hearing about ethnic-studies courses in the Arizona Supreme Court.[8]

Impact on other high schools[]

According to a July 2015 article in The Atlantic, the Librotraficante movement led to the introduction of ethnic-studies courses in other high schools in Arizona, California, and Texas.[6]

Awards[]

In 2013 Librotraficante received the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award at the American Library Association's Midwinter meeting.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Laura Steiner (31 January 2012). "'Librotraficante' Caravan Set To Smuggle Books Back Into Arizona Following Ethnic Studies Ban". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019.
  2. ^ "15-112. Prohibited courses and classes; enforcement". Arizona State Legislature.
  3. ^ a b "Reports of TUSD book ban completely false and misleading". Tucson Unified School District. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Phil Morehart (14 May 2013). "A Year in the Life of Librotraficante". American Libraries Magazine.
  5. ^ Jeff Biggers (23 January 2012). "Tucson School Walk Outs Grow: Protest School District's Folly and Mexican American Studies Banishment". Huffington Post.
  6. ^ a b Phippen, J. Weston (July 17, 2015). "How Arizona Gave Rise to Book Smugglers". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. ^ Ybarra, Priscilla Solis (2016). Writing the Goodlife: Mexican American Literature and the Environment. University of Arizona Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0816532001.
  8. ^ Alyson Ward (21 June 2017). "A rolling protest: Librotraficante hits the road again". Houston Chronicle.

External links[]

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