amea_2012.indd


Association of Mexican-American Educators (AMAE) Journal ©2012, Theme Issue, Volume 6, Issue 1

Silencing Resistance 

Marisol Ruiz
New Mexico State University

The following poems contest the places that try to silence and prohibit Ethnic Studies.
 
I ask them:
What are you afraid of?
 Are you afraid of a politicized Raza population?  
Are you afraid of people who will no longer stay silent? 
Are you afraid of brown bodies having the tools and voice to speak back to power? 
Is it fear of the brown conscious bodies? 
It seems to me that you only want to prohibit Ethnic Studies where there is a critical mass of students who will become 
concientizados and politicized. But I ask again: What are you afraid of?

Resisto     I Resist

Quieren    They want
y yo resisto.    and I resist.

Quieren     They want 
prohibir     to prohibit
lo que     what I
veo, toco,     see, touch,
leo, oigo     read, hear
y siento.     and feel.

Quieren     They want
controlar    to control
lo que sé    what I know
lo que     what I
enseño.    teach.

Quieren    They want to 
enjaular     incarcerate
mi risa     my laugh
mi sueño    my dream
mi pensar    my thinking
mi amor    my love
pero     but
mi alma     my soul
resiste.    resists.

Censura    Censorship

Me da risa     I want to 
cuando    laugh out loud 
piensan     when
que la censura   they think

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Silencing Resistance



Association of Mexican-American Educators (AMAE) Journal ©2012, Theme Issue, Volume 6, Issue 1

pueda     that censorship
encarcelar    can keep 
mi pensar    my mind
que  grita    caged up
libertad.    locked up
     silent 
                                           and lost
                                           as it screams
                                           freedom.

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Silencing Resistance