This blog on Texas education contains posts on higher education, as well as preK-12 policy accountability, testing, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues at both the state and national level. It also represents my digital footprint, of life and career, as a community-engaged scholar in Texas.
On the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe calls on all of us to help build Dr. King’s Beloved Community. This initiative reminds us that freedom is a moral commitment to one another. It’s inspiring to see LULAC, faith leaders, and community partners uniting to restore dignity, dialogue, and hope across Texas.
Texas NAACP and Faith Leaders Launch “Building the Beloved
Community” Initiative to Reclaim Civic Dialogue and Protect Dignity Across Texas
On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the venerated Emancipation
Proclamation. Today, 163 years later, our state still in many ways is debating the
dignities, humanity and freedoms conferred to People of Color by that document.
“We have fractured into communities that see this nation as us against those
people. And social media, some political operatives, extremists and others have
exploited those fissures to the point where civic dialogue, respect, and dignity are
on the decline. While violence, indifference, race-baiting, and hopelessness are on
the rise,” said Gary Bledsoe, President of the Texas NAACP.
“Before he died 57 years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. challenged us to be part of Building the Beloved Community. That is why we are launching this
initiative to reclaim the moral high ground.”
“We’ve worked on putting different pieces in place for more than a year, but we are
now asking other people who want to be part of this initiative to join with us at
every level.”
“This is our follow-up to Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Bledsoe said.
Specifically, The Texas NAACP is calling on our partners to join with the Texas
NAACP and its units to create roundtables across Texas to engage in civic dialogue and take other steps to create a better path forward for all Texans.
“I am honored to represent Pastors for Texas Children in supporting this initiative
by our friends in the Texas NAACP to create a conversation of mutual respect and
dialogue to address the challenges faced by our communities with the increase in
incidents of violence and verbal abuse in our classrooms and communities, said
the Rev. Dr. Larry Bethune, Senior Pastor Emeritus of the University Baptist Church,
Austin.
“We believe every Texas student should be treated with dignity and respect and
should feel safe in his or her school and wider community. We believe schools
should provide and protect an environment where Texas youth can learn the value
of respectful civil discourse where their voices are heard and their concerns
honored. Every person is precious in God’s eyes, no matter their background.
“We hope these conversations will strengthen the frayed fabric of our wider
communities and rekindle the dream of our forebears for a nation united by our
democratic ideals of listening to one another and living as “one nation, under God,
with liberty and justice for all.” Therefore, Pastors for Texas Children endorses this
program of community building conversations in our communities and
congregations.”
Texas LULAC General Counsel, Gloria Leal said, “LULAC, the largest and oldest
Hispanic advocacy group in the United States, joins the NAACP in support of the
First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution , a cornerstone of our democracy
protecting free speech, belief and association. LULAC joins the NAACP in opposing
any form of violence which impinges on Firm Amendment rights , in the face of
retaliation and other forceful efforts aimed at suppression and imposition of --
ideological conformity.”
Theme and mission: The Texas NAACP along with faith leaders and other partners are announcing an initiative to continue the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in Building a Beloved Community.
We want round tables in each community to help address issues of violence and to
provide safe spaces for dialogue on issues in our communities. We hold true to the
desire of Dr. King to seek to achieve a Beloved Community. In order to facilitate
discussions we are providing the following documents for our Texas NAACP units
and other partners to consider for use in their round table discussions: (a)
Reimagining Public Safety — Moving to Safe, Healthy, and Hopeful Communities
(Travis County); (b) Public Safety Suggestions Document for College Campuses
(Texas NAACP); and (c) Proposed Policy on K-12 Bullying (written from legislation
by Senator Menendez, Rep. Ron Reynolds and Rep. Senfronia Thompson, IDRA and
Texas and Lubbock NAACP Branch).
Bledsoe said, it falls to people of good will to meet the challenges we face and not
expect or wait for leaders to rescue us. And that means we must come together
and work together to create communications that respect the dignity and
humanity of all people. This means reaching out to people across the political
spectrum, people of all faiths, and building coalitions with local entities for a better
way forward toward that Beloved Community Dr. King spoke of.
It doesn’t mean that we stop fighting for justice and civil rights, but it means we also look for common ground. Though there may be fundamental political and even religious
issues that may sometimes divide us, we know that people of good will respect all
people and believe that all of us, without regard to race, creed, color, political
affiliation, faith or religious beliefs, be treated with dignity.
Our partners: While the Texas NAACP is leading this work, we are proud that
already we have a large and diverse group of religious.
I'm still savoring the beautiful, heartfelt recognition I received this past weekend at the Texas NAACP Convention from Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe. Gary and I and my students and his staff worked together for years on important issues in the Texas State Legislature. I look forward to rekindling this work as we proceed forward in anticipation of the 88th (2023) session of the Texas State Legislature. A big shout-out to Yannis Banks with whom my students and I worked closely for many legislative sessions.
Here is the actual message on the award:
"For setting a tremendous example as a teacher and scholar, growing tremendous future Latino and African-American Leaders in education and being an asset to Brown and Black communities in many areas of important advocacy in education.”
A big thanks to Gary Bledsoe and Alberta Phillips-Bledsoe for their generosity and hospitality at the state convention this weekend. I am deeply touched.
The BIG message at this convention is that we all need to get out and vote, lest extremists revive Jim Crow in its many manifestations. Encouraging words expressed, as well, regarding the historic and vital partnership between LULAC and the NAACP.
More to come, my friends, on the importance of Black Brown Dialogues on Policy (BBDP), a project that Gary, myself, and others are currently working on as co-founders. A special shout out to BBDP co-founder, Colette Phillips, as well, for joining us on Saturday and for supporting this important work. She is on the site committee for what will be a fully in-person NAACP National Convention that takes place in Boston in 2023.
I have covered this issue of the Eyes of Texas song on this blog. I may have missed some earlier news because it really caught me by surprise to read herein that the University of Texas at Austin decided to create a a separate marching band for students who do not want to play “The Eyes of Texas” song. This unmistakably smacks of Plessy v. Ferguson all over again.
Since we know that Plessy's separate but equal doctrine was unethical, unjust, and humiliating policy, how could anyone fathom this proposed remedy as a solution?In fact, it deepens the wound.
If it helps, I shared Dr. Alberto Martinez's in-depth analysis of "100 Problems in the Eyes of Texas" with my students this semester and they were shocked to learn about the history of this song. No one in my class of 23 students this semester said they felt strongly about the song after learning about it. They even said that they were deeply offended by it. One student even said that he approached his reading of the analysis in full support of the song, but was convinced after reading Dr. Martinez' analysis that it has to go.
I have had conversations in my class with students for years, but never had any data or evidence to substantiate the sentiments that students felt and shared about the song. It also felt taboo to even raise as a concern in polite company. Notwithstanding its iconic status, now the veil is off.
Here are the pieces I've posted to this blog on the matter:
For the record, it not only offends many African Americans and the NAACP. If you go through the "100 Problems," you'll see that it similarly offends a broad swath of folks, including many women who find the song's words "creepy," such that appeals to its removal should be taken seriously.
The complaint signals a continued desire among some UT-Austin students and alumni to push administrators to discontinue using the song as the university’s alma mater, despite the university’s insistence that it will remain.
The Texas chapter of the NAACP, along with the civil rights organization’s University of Texas at Austin chapter and a group of anonymous students, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights alleging UT-Austin is creating a “hostile environment” for Black students by continuing to play the “The Eyes of Texas” alma mater song at university events.
The complaint, filed Friday morning, alleges that Black students have been denied full benefits of Longhorn student life because the song is an official part of the university, “despite its racially offensive origin, context and meaning.” The song premiered at a minstrel show in the early 1900s where students likely wore blackface. Despite pushback, university officials have said they are going to keep the song as their alma mater, concluding in a report issued earlier this year that the song “had no racist intent.”
The complaint, provided to The Texas Tribune by the filers, says the university has failed to respond to racial harassment against Black students and others who oppose the song, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and argues the university’s decision to create a separate marching band for students who do not want to play “The Eyes of Texas” violates equal protections afforded under the Fourteenth Amendment.
This past spring, the UT-Austin Butler School of Music announced the creation of a new band in which students would not be required to play the song after members of the Longhorn Band refused to play it last fall due to its history and origins. Students in the Longhorn band are required to play the song.
UT-Austin did not respond to a request for comment. A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson said it does not acknowledge complaints unless they have been accepted for investigation. The department updates its list of investigations on a monthly basis.
This latest move by the local NAACP chapters came one day before the start of the football season. The Longhorn Band plays the song, and those games have been where much of the controversy surrounding the song played out. A little over a year ago, a group of UT football players called for the school to discontinue using the song. The debate touched many parts of the university community, from athletics and academics to fundraising and student organizations. On Saturday, the band played the song and players stayed on the field for the postgame singalong tradition without a major issue. Football coach Steve Sarkisian said in January that “‘The Eyes of Texas’ is our school song. We’re going to sing that song. We’re going to sing that proudly.”
But the complaint signals the continued desire among some students and alumni beyond the football stadium to push administrators to discontinue using the song as UT-Austin’s alma mater, despite the university’s insistence that it will remain. Last month, a group of students protested the song at an event welcoming new students to campus for the fall semester. Some students also staged a walkout at graduation last spring when the song played.
Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, said the groups initially tried to work with university leaders to get them to do away with the song, but were unsuccessful. They decided to file the complaint because students said the campus climate surrounding the song had gotten increasingly tense throughout the spring semester. Al-Nasser Lawal, a UT-Austin senior and president of the UT-Austin chapter of the NAACP, said Black student groups also met with administrators to discuss their concerns with the song without success.
“As Black students, we kind of feel as if it’s not like our voices are heard,” Lawal said in an interview. “The main objective of the administration and the campus is just to appease their wealthy donors so that they can continue to get that funding, and that they don’t really have our best interests at heart.”
They argue the song is unavoidable as it is sung after sporting events, at graduation and from the UT Tower bells every evening.
Bledsoe said students involved chose to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation by the university.
The complaint targets UT-Austin as well as some unnamed university alumni, arguing that while alumni do not receive federal funding, “actions of certain University alumni may be attributable to the University because the University has a duty to protect students and provide them a safe and non-threatening and non-discriminatory educational environment.”
It also quotes five anonymous students who shared various experiences where they felt ostracized or mistreated due to their opposition to the song.
Leaders of the NAACP chapters said they felt the decision to create two bands was the most egregious example of discrimination, harkening back to the 1950 Sweatt vs. Painter case in which the state created a separate law school for Black students instead of granting a Black applicant, Heman Sweatt, admission into UT Law. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled against UT-Austin because of the differences between the law school for white students, which had more professors, a larger law library and better facilities than the law school created for Black students.
Bledsoe said he believes the new band will not be awarded the same benefits as the long-standing Longhorn Band, which has a rich history and active alumni support base.
The complaint also argues UT-Austin created a hostile environment for campus tour guides who called for the university to remove a plaque with the song lyrics from the university welcome center. The students went on strike after the university said they understood if students didn’t want to continue to serve as guides based on their feelings about the school song.
UT-Austin announced last month it will remove the lyrics, but the complaint argues the university did nothing to address the financial and emotional harm students endured from that situation.
UT-Austin president Jay Hartzell said last summer the song would stay after a group of football players demanded its removal in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The president commissioned a group to study the song’s history. The group’s report concluded that the song debuted in a racist setting, but had no racist intent. It also could not find a direct link that showed Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee inspired the phrase “The Eyes of Texas are upon you,” as previously stated by those who opposed the song.
Soon after, a professor at UT-Austin, Alberto Martinez, released his own report on the song’s history that contradicted some of the university's conclusions. The complaint filed Friday accuses the university committee of not fully exploring the song’s history, pointing to Martinez’s report as evidence.
UT-Austin has stood by its own report.
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After reading this, listening to UT History Professor Dr. Alberto Martinez' testimony—as well as reading his detailed analysis published last week in Medium.com titled, True Origins of ‘The Eyes of Texas’—I truly hope that this song gets retired. Just reading all of this is hurtful, painful, and disturbing.
-Angela Valenzuela 
