TITLE
Date: 2012
Region: North America
Subject: Education
Medium: Literature
Perpetrators: John Huppenthal, AZ Superintendent for Public Instruction; Tuscon Unified School District (TUSD)
Confronting Bodies: Association of American Publishers, American Association of University Professors, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Council for the Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN American Center
Dates of Action: January, 2012
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Description of Artwork: Textbooks and novels with foreign protagonists.
The Incident: Stating that it is adhering to a ruling by Arizona Superintendent for Public Instruction John Huppenthal, the Tuscon Unified School District (TUSD) removed seven textbooks and an assortment of other books intended for the Mexican American Studies courses.
Results of Incident: The aforementioned organizations, along with individuals across the country, have joined together to express their indignation at this incidence of book censorship. Nationwide, newspapers have carried stories on the event. On January 30, 2012, the Joint Statement In Opposition to Book Censorship In The Tucson Unified School District was signed by various free expression groups.
