Textbooks, Truth, and Justice: Lessons from the Reject the (Racist) Text Campaign Before the Texas SBOE, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Textbooks, Truth, and Justice: Lessons from the Reject the (Racist) Text Campaign Before the Texas SBOE

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

In this November 15, 2016 testimony before the Texas State Board of Education, I speak out against the adoption of a proposed textbook that contained distorted and racist portrayals of Mexican Americans. Textbooks shape how young people understand their history, identity, and place in society. When they disparage or erase our stories, they cause real harm.

The textbook, which would have been used to miseducate our Texas youth—perhaps especially Mexican Americans—was ultimately defeated. So far, the best published recounting of this story is by Dr. Emilio Zamora, as captured in this April 12, 2017 blog titled, "The Mexican Fight for Ethnic Studies in Texas: The Biography of a Cause."

In his reflections, Dr. Zamora, recipient of the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) Scholar Award in 2017, recounts how the NACCS Tejas Foco K–12 Committee led a statewide campaign to expose the book’s hundreds of factual errors and racist depictions. The campaign—known as “Reject the Text”—united thousands of scholars, students, educators, parents, and community organizations, including MALDEF, LULAC, school boards, and legislators. Their collective effort persuaded the State Board to vote unanimously (15–0) against adoption.

I share this video because it is vital for the public to see how these decisions are made—and to hear the voices of those who resist attempts to marginalize and misrepresent our communities. My testimony is part of a larger, ongoing struggle for truthful, inclusive, and dignified education in Texas and across the nation.

This victory was more than the rejection of a single book. It affirmed the strength of collective action, the responsibility of scholars to remain rooted in their communities, and the power of organizing for educational justice. It reminds us that even in difficult times, we can prevail.

We must always remember that democracy is also always about authorship and our right to it—both as individuals and communities. 

References

Valenzuela, A. (2016, April 8). "Reject the Text" Testimony Delivered before the Texas State Board of Education, Austin, Texas

Zamora, E. (2017, April 12) "The Mexican Fight for Ethnic Studies in Texas: The Biography of a Cause." https://texasedequity.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-mexican-fight-for-ethnic-studies-in_12.html