(NAME-MCE) listserv contents

[Garcia Jr, Antonio]

A mi gente,
As I read through the replies I am amazed to see the responses and 
diverse opinions.  The common theme seems to be that we need someone 
“urban” and someone “non-white.”  Please correct me if I am wrong, but 
multicultural education is not defined as only black and white or inner 
city and other.  Perhaps Sonia will chime in on this point.  We are 
faced with struggles and complex issues across multiple dimensions.  No 
one person will ever be able to fully illuminate all of the 
complexities faced.  Why has no one mentioned a speaker like Gerald 
Unks who wrote "The Gay Teen" or someone dealing with an area not so 
readily discussed or acknowledged by schools(i.e social class, 
sexuality, special education marginalization etc
)?  There is a bigger 
dimension situated within critical theory and pedagogy that we cannot 
ignore especially in light of the current political status of the US.  
Schooling has become a terrain of identity struggle and ideological 
conflict.  Multicultural educators are faced with a strong 
neo-conservative movement which is reducing multiculturalism to a black 
and white antiquated ideal maintained by left-over hippy leftist 
radicals.  As I stated earlier, I think Sonia mentioned the fact that 
we are political by the very nature of what we are espousing and 
holding as virtuous ideals of a better society.  The political idealism 
of a keynote speaker is important when we are trying to establish the 
credibility of what we do and moreover the advocacy we need past 
his/her participation at the conference.  We must look and confront 
oppression as a faceless and colorless monster that seeks to degrade 
humanity and hope.  Our ideas and visions of a speaker should seek 
someone that speaks to all and does not limit the scope to identifying 
one struggle over another as this sets up a hierarchy of oppression.  
As long as there is inequality and oppression we will maintain our 
fists in the air with emotion and compassion in our heart for all 
peoples.  Just some thoughts I had.
Antonio Garcia
Indiana University