Arizona Legislator Wants Schools To Stop Teaching Hip-Hop
On Friday (Jan. 2), John Huppenthal, the outgoing head of Arizona's Department of Education, published a letter in which he complains that schools in the Tuscon Unified School District were failing to comply with state-approved curriculum. The reason? The schools were teaching a KRS-One-penned definition of hip-hop, Rage Against The Machine lyrics, Mexican-American history, and other things that the courses fostered anti-white sentiments.
Huppenthal, a conservative who in 2010 banned a history course taught from a Mexican standpoint, criticized the Tuscon schools for promoting "the African American perspective" with their reading of KRS' "Introduction To Hip-Hop." That text, in part, defines the genre as "the artistic response to oppression."
The letter continues on to say that the teachings "promote the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment towards a race or class of people, advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
The investigation into said curriculum is ongoing. If found in violation of the law, the school district could see 10% of its federally-sourced funding withheld.
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