We have fun, and get things done AtascaderoDemocraticClub.org@gmail.com
Meetings 4th Thurs (changed from 3rd)
630pm Atascadero Library
FB = AtascaderoDems
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Speakers
Our plan is to have a dynamic selection of speakers, focusing on local topics of interest. Question/Answer time with speakers is encouraged. In person with Zoom alternative when possible.
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4/9/2024
At our next meeting on April 25, join us for a discussion led by Gordon himself on the very topical subject of Christian Nationalism. See below for details.
Lecture on Christian nationalism’s threat to American democracy and Christianity to be presented on April 25.
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On April 25, 7 pm, in the Martin Polin Community Room of the Atascadero Public Library, Gordon Fuglie will lecture on the rise of Christian nationalism and its prominence in the Republican presidential campaign and conservative politics. The event is hosted by the Atascadero Democratic Club.
Upon announcing his presidential bid in 2015, Donald Trump courted conservative white evangelical Christians by promising to redress their social fears, cultural grievances, and use federal power to give them dominion over American life. In the 2016 election, more than 80% of white evangelical voters supported Trump.
According to Fuglie, “Christian nationalism merges conservative Christian and American identities, distorting both Christianity and our constitutional democracy. This political movement falsely claims that America was founded as a Christian nation and demands its version of Christianity be privileged by the State.”
Fuglie agrees with Disciples of Christ minister William Barber who says that “the Gospel of Jesus is about proclaiming good news to the poor, healing to the brokenhearted, and creating communities of self-giving love and justice.” By contrast, Fuglie sees Christian nationalism as subverting authentic faith and lying about American history. “At its core,” he says, “it is theological malpractice and a full-blown heresy.” Fuglie will conclude his presentation with suggestions for making connections across the divide between Christian nationalists and Americans who are alarmed by this toxic movement.
Atascadero resident Gordon Fuglie, a former Republican, has since the 1980s followed the rise of fundamentalism, conspiracy theories, and authoritarian politics within American evangelicalism. An observant Episcopal Christian and sometime lay preacher, Fuglie also is a UCLA-educated art historian, teacher, art critic, exhibition curator, and author.
Contact information: Gordon Fuglie (gordon.fuglie@charter.net); Atascadero Democratic Club, Dan Cook, president (dtcook@sbcglobal.net)
3/18/2024
Friends,
Our next ADC meeting will be this coming Thurs, 630 pm upstairs at the Library. Our new organizer of speakers, Gordon Fuglie, continues his eclectic and informative series of speakers with a talk by Prof. Mario Espinoza-Kulik, who will speak on the new state-mandated Ethnic Studies classes that will be introduced this Fall at AHS. I'm sure this will lead to a much-animated discussion between all parties, and for more info please see his bio to follow.
Our ADC is also supporting qualified school board candidates, and there is an opening in the Templeton School District (one person just resigned). Matt Allison is one of 7 candidates seeking an appointment to this opening, and we are supporting him. Since this is a separate situation, I'll provide more info on him in a separate email tomorrow.
Thanks to all,Dan
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Who’s Afraid of California’s Ethnic Studies Mandate for Colleges and High Schools?
On Thursday, March 21, 7 PM, the Atascadero Democratic Club (ADC) will host Prof. Mario Espinoza-Kulick, PhD, in the Martin Polin Community Room, on the second floor of the Atascadero Public Library. Mario will introduce the new ethnic studies course that recently became a state requirement for students pursuing an associate degree at California’s community colleges. This Fall he will be teaching this course for the first time at Atascadero High School where students can fulfill a general education college requirement. Since 2021 Mario has been an Ethnic Studies Instructor at Cuesta College and is a Community College Faculty Fellow of the Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies.
In 2020, California inaugurated a higher education policy that required students to take a three-unit semester or four-unit quarter class in either African American studies, Asian American studies, Latinx/Latino studies or Native American studies. These courses will count toward students’ general education college requirements. Starting with the class of 2030, California high school students will be required to pass an ethnic studies class to graduate.
According to educators backing the course, ethnic studies courses help students understand the multitude of human experiences within American society, helping them see that the American experience is not a singularity, that it has always been diverse. Moreover, ethnic studies courses are structured to overcome persisting historical stereotypes, enabling students to recognize the complexity of the United States, from pre-colonial times to the present.
Since the proposal of the state-mandated course, a number of groups have criticized the course as being “too political,”or “biased,” causing it to undergo a series of revisions. The ADC encourages attendees to the March 21 presentation to participate in the Q&A following Mario’s presentation.
Mario Espinoza-Kulick was born in Modesto, and raised in an immigrant and Indigenous family. He earned a BA in Comparative Ethnic Studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2016. He went on to earn his MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2018 and 2021. Mario co-hosts the topical radio program Central Coast Voices, heard every Thursday afternoon on KCBX-FM from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
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