Maria Federico Brummer
Organizations
Save Ethnic Studies; Tucson Unified School District
Location
Tucson, AZ
Biography
Maria Federico Brummer was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona and has deep family ties to southern Arizona and the greater Sonoran-Arizona borderlands. She has been an educator in the Tucson Unified School District for her entire career, working as a Mexican American Studies teacher and as the director of the department of Mexican American Student Services. As a Mexican American Studies teacher, she was involved in the battle to protect the Mexican American Studies program against attacks from Gov. Jan Brewer’s administration.
Audio Clips
Interviewed by Michelle Téllez on May 7, 2024 in Tucson, Arizona
Maria Federico Brummer relates the history of desegregation and the establishment of ethnic studies in Tucson Unified School District.
Maria Federico Brummer discusses the aftermath of the legislation that dismantled ethnic studies and the court case they brought against the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Maria Federico Brummer discusses the responsibility of being a high profile leader in the school district, the sense of accountability she feels to the community, and her embrace of that feeling of mutual trust.
Digital Archive
Letter from parent praising ethnic studies.
Maria Federico Brummer profile in National Education Association magazine.
Tucson Unified School District ethnic studies teachers’ case against Arizona State Board of Education.
Save Ethnic Studies Campaign Logo.
Tucson High School Cactus newspaper article about MEChA, in Spanish.