Fight against prop. 227 not over

By Evelina Alarcon

This article was reprinted from the June 13, 1998 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.

LOS ANGELES - The fight in California against the anti-bilingual Proposition 227 is not over in spite of the June 2 vote approving it. Walkouts by high school students and a legal challenge are just the tip of the iceberg of fightback that is to come.

The day after the election, a coalition of civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco calling Prop. 227 a "violation of the civil rights of 1.4 million California children who are not fluent in English."

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the American Civil Liberties Union and many groups representing Asian Americans have formed an historic alliance in an effort to stop Prop. 227.

The election results also produced spontaneous demonstrations in Los Angeles-area schools. Over 1,000 students at several schools protested Prop. 227's blatant "injustice" and "racism."

Students at Woodrow Wilson and Belmont high schools were the first to walk out, soon followed by the El Sereno Middle School. Those students attempted to walk out in mass but the school administration locked them in.

At Wilson High, students peacefully marched through the streets with "No on 227" signs, refusing to stop in spite of the huge presence of the police, which immediately surrounded them. Support came from their city councilman, Richard Alatorre, from parents who walked with them and from administrators who joined them to insure their safety. Members of MeCHA, a Chicano student organization, and members of the student government led the Wilson students.

Since the election, scores of teachers from up and down the state have signed pledges saying they will not stop teaching bilingually in their classrooms. Over 1,500 made that pledge in Los Angeles alone.

The San Francisco Board of Education voted unanimously June 3 to continue bilingual programs and to join any legal action to overturn what board President Carlota del Portillo called "an absurd measure which has no educational basis and would set our students back 30 years." The school superintendant vowed to defy 227 even if it means going to jail.

Many leaders from various organizations have told the press the electorate was confused by the ultra-right campaign, which scapegoated bilingual education as the cause of problems in public education, rather than lack of funding and resources. Had there been an earlier start to the anti- Prop. 227 campaign, many believe, more voters would have voted against it.

Under successive Republican governors, California's educational system has dropped from being one of the best in the country to 47th place. This has created mass frustration which rightly should be directed at the Republican Party. Instead, the ultra-right has misdirected this anger by blaming the problems on bilingual education, affirmative action and immigrants.

Lack of funding for bilingual education is reflected in the fact that the state needs 20,000 more bilingual teachers than it has. And, because federal regulations require bilingual education, the threat of losing federal funds also exists.

The ultra-right and 227 initiator Ron Unz depicted bilingual education as a barrier to learning English. In fact, its primary goal is for students to become fully fluent in English.

Like the anti-immigrant Prop. 187 and the anti affirmative action Prop. 209, Prop. 227 was sold to voters with a well- financed media campaign of lies, gross exaggeration, which spewed huge doses of anti-immigrant, anti-Latino racism and chauvinism.

Like the anti-labor Prop. 226, the early polls showed Prop. 227 supported by 70 percent of all voters. This included Latino voters. Unlike 226, the campaign against 227 lacked funding and a broad enough mobilization.

Unz succeeded in getting a few Latino teachers - including Jaime Escalante, a Republican, whose efforts to get his students to excel was portrayed in the film, Stand and Deliver. This added to the confusion on the issue.

But in the last three weeks before the election, a flurry of television ads and mailings in English and Spanish resulted in a definite turnaround in both the Latino and African American communities and among other voters.

Latinos voted to defeat Prop. 227 by 63 percent and 52 percent of African Americans voted "no." Voters whose family income is less than $20,000 also narrowly voted against Prop. 227 by 51 percent.

The united vote of Latinos and African Americans, when added to the lawsuit participation by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, one of the nation's most prominent African American organizations, marks a potential leap forward for Black and Brown unity in California and the nation.

While 70 percent of Republicans voted for the Gov. Wilson- supported Prop. 227, only 47 percent of Democrats did so, which also showed a change among registered Democrats from the original polls.

With the passage of Prop. 227, California's educational system faces a dilemma of how to implement this proposition, which goes against the natural needs of most school districts in the state.

It is this ugly reality which many predict will create the motivation for increased demonstrative action.

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