July 06, 2022
Blavity
If there was any doubt that Texas is the frontline for the fight for the soul of our nation, that should all be removed by now. There have been recent headlines regarding the Texas proposal to remove the truth about our nation’s history. I’m talking about slavery, and renaming, and teaching it as “involuntary relocation”.
Leaders of this sad state of Texas, have once again demonstrated that they are not going to sit back and watch as others on the political right lead the fight to dismantle the truth about the history of our nation. From the racist anti-CRT legislation Senate Bill 3 passed into law last legislative session, to this new attempt to call slavery “involuntary relocation,” Texas leaders continue to push for a complete whitewashing of history. Ensuring that not one white child and their families are ever forced to accept the truth about what their ancestors did to others.
As this story spread across social media, people shared their outrage that this could even be proposed. People such as LeBron James and Jemele Hill shared the outrage we all felt in their Tweets.
We should all be outraged that we are reaching this point and that we have leaders in many parts of our nation who are committed to erasing our family stories and struggles from the history of our nation.
At the same time, we should also take a moment to notice that it is once again a Black woman, the only Black woman elected to the Texas State Board of Education, who is speaking out and standing up against this racist education proposal.
First elected to the Texas State Board of Education in 2018, Aicha Davis is no stranger to being a leader on education equity issues in our nation. Being a former classroom teacher herself, State Board of Education Member Aicha Davis understands how crucial it is to have environments in our schools that treat all students with respect and dignity. As a former science teacher she also understands how important it is to be honest and truthful.
Haley Taylor Schlitz is 19 years old and the youngest Black person to graduate from law school in the history of the United States. In May of 2022, Haley graduated with her Juris Doctor from the SMU Dedman School of Law. In May of 2019, she became Texas Woman’s University’s youngest graduate in history when she graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Woman’s University College of Professional Education. She is also the host of the online show Zooming In w/Gen Z.