TUSD Governing Board member Michael Hicks is taking heat following his appearance on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" on Monday night.
Hicks was featured in a segment discussing the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American Studies courses, which were dismantled in January amid a threat by the state to cut off millions of dollars in aid.
The clip, 5 minutes, 25 seconds long, features "The Daily Show's" Al Madrigal interviewing Hicks and Mexican American Studies educator Curtis Acosta.
"My concern was a lot of the radical ideas that they were teaching in these classes," Hicks told Madrigal. "Telling these kids that this is their land, the whites took it over and the only way to get out from beneath the gringo - which is the white man - is by bloodshed."
On the nationally broadcast show, Hicks told Madrigal that he chose not to attend any of the classes and that he based his thoughts on "hearsay from others."
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Acosta defended the now-defunct courses, saying students were not taught to hate white people. Rather, he said the courses encouraged critical thinking.
Hicks, an adjunct faculty member at Pima Community College, went on to say that every week the teachers would "go out and buy burritos and feed these kids … what that does is it builds more of a bond between the teacher and the students."
Madrigal followed up with Acosta on that statement, saying, "When the program goes away, the burritos go away. That's why these kids are upset. No mas burritos."
Acosta responded, "That's pretty offensive."
Hicks also spoke in the interview about slavery and how other courses like African American Studies would not be affected by the state law targeting ethnic studies.
"The African American Studies program is still there," Hicks said. "It's not teaching the resentment of a race or class of people."
Hicks appeared to stumble when trying to answer a question about how black students should be taught about slavery without them feeling resentful toward white people. At one point, he said Africans were brought to America to perform "slavery jobs."
"We now have a black man as a president. You know, Rosa Clark did not take a gun and go onto a bus and hold up everybody," he said, referring to civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
Before watching the show Monday night, Hicks later said, he had never seen the show and was unaware it was satirical in nature.
"I was naive in regards to what 'The Daily Show' really was," Hicks said Tuesday. "They took a 3 1/2-hour interview and pieced it together for a two- to three-minute segment. The statements that were made on there were not my true statements.
"Words came out of my mouth, but not in the sequence that was shown."
Hicks said he will no longer grant interviews and will only speak during board meetings.
When asked what his true statements were, Hicks said he could not exactly recall as the interview occurred two months ago.
He stood firm, however, in saying that he did not base his decision on the fate of Mexican American Studies on hearsay and that he had, indeed, visited a class.
"I apologize for what 'The Daily Show' did to my interview - it's not indicative of what I am, what I stand for," Hicks said. "I feel the district didn't deserve this; I didn't deserve this; my family didn't deserve this."
UNIDOS, a student-led group that supports the courses, called for Hicks' resignation after the episode aired, describing it as "blatant racism and ignorance."
Hicks said he has no plans to resign and that he did nothing wrong.
On StarNet: Read more on the controversy surrounding ethnic studies at azstarnet.com/education
Online
View "The Daily Show" segment on Mexican American Studies here: www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-2-2012/tucson-s-mexican-american-studies-ban
Did you know?
The TUSD Mexican American Studies courses were eliminated after former Arizona Schools Chief Tom Horne and his successor, John Huppenthal, determined the courses violated a state law formerly known as HB 2281. The law prohibits courses that promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic race, advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals and promote the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at ahuicochea@azstarnet.com or 573-4175.
