I was 12 when the Walt Disney series “Davy Crockett” was on TV. I watched every episode at my grandmother’s house. I was heartbroken when Crockett was killed fighting for freedom at the Alamo.
Except I learned later that he wasn’t exactly fighting for freedom. In fact, one of the main reasons immigrants from the U.S. were fighting against Mexico was because they wanted to bring their slaves into the state. Mexico did not allow slavery. The Underground Railroad in Texas went south, to Mexico and freedom.
Now the Texas legislature has mandated that Texas schools teach patriotism, downplaying both slavery and discrimination against Mexicans. One bill will block exhibits at the Alamo from mentioning that many of the fighters at the Alamo were slave owners.
Republicans also attached amendments to the bill requiring that teaching in Texas schools raise awareness of the state’s Christian heritage and its tradition of gun ownership.
Since all schools in the state must adopt an official state textbook, the huge market in Texas means that many textbooks across the country could reflect the Texas policy.
I was pleased when the U.S. government recently called what Turkey did to the Armenians during World War I genocide, which is what it was. Now Texas does this. Whitewashing history doesn’t change history; it is like an infection that festers under the skin.
See Simon Romero, “A Push in Texas To Polish Stains Of Race History,” New York Times, (May 21, 2021), pp. A1, A16, for the full story.
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