LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
Los Angeles, Alta California
July 22, 2011

MALDEF sues school district for bigotry
against Mexican-American student

On June 28 of last year we reported on an ugly incident concerning anti-Mexican bigotry that took place at a middle school of the Bear Valley Unified School District located in southern California. The report entitled "Teacher profiles 7th grader as an 'illegal alien' for wearing a Mexico soccer t-shirt" is published at http://www.aztlan.net/big_bear_bigotry.htm

Yesterday, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) filed suit in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California, charging that the teacher, principal and the school district violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The suit was filed on behalf of the then 12 year old student that suffered humiliation, harassment and racial bigotry at the hands of the teacher Suzy Carpenter and school administrators.

Below is a video of the MALDEF news conference concerning the suit:

The complete legal complaint filed in federal court by MALDEF can be read at Aviles vs Bear Valley Unified School District