What began as a moment of pride—chaperoning My Daughter’s Texas history field trip—quickly turned unsettling and anti-black. Texas history isn’t just about cowboys, the Alamo, and football—though those get plenty of fanfare. The often-missing narratives about Black Texans, Indigenous peoples, and the very real colonial violence behind the state’s foundation is intentional.
The curriculum presented to fourth graders is sanitized and incomplete. Native Americans are painted as a vanished people, their presence relegated to the past. White people are presented as the transcendental civilizing saviors of the past, present and future. There is zero acknowledgement, recognition, or understanding of black presence in Texas history and the whole damn Texas social studies field trip.
Texas history in K-12 settings often omits Black presence and contributions, failing to teach students about foundational roles in Texas’ development—including the explicit legalization of slavery and the anti-Black policies enshrined in early Texas law.
The Erasure of Black Texans
Enslaved Africans were brought to Texas by Anglo-American settlers, and the defense of slavery was a primary cause of the Texas Revolution. After independence, the Texas Republic legally enshrined slavery and severely restricted the rights of Black people, both enslaved and free.
Anglo enslavers and settlers, led by Stephen F. Austin, arrived in Mexican Texas with enslaved people to establish cotton plantations. After 1821, the new Mexican government passed laws to restrict and gradually abolish slavery.
These shady Settlers used legal loopholes, such as “indentured servitude” contracts for life, to circumvent these bans.
Remember The Alamo? They taught us almost everybody died there wasn’t many survivors. They don’t teach us about Joe Travis, the enslaved person owned by William Travis, The commander of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo.
Photo Credit: https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/travis-joe-1815/
Joe was with Travis at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. According to his later account, he was sleeping in the same room when the alarm was given. He took up a gun, followed Travis to the wall, and fired on the attacking Mexican forces. He saw Travis killed, then retreated and continued to fire from a building before surrendering.
As much as The Alamo is taught about in school and the amount of time we told to “Remember The Alamo” why aren’t we taught about Joe Travis? Should Black students not see reflections of themselves in the lesson plan?
Joe was one of the very few survivors of the Alamo. He was questioned by General Santa Anna and, because he spoke Spanish, provided an early account of the battle that became foundational to the historical record. Despite being treated as a "war hero" briefly, he was not granted freedom. He was returned to the Travis estate and put back into slavery. He later escaped. Joe was a historical Badass buried in the archive because his perseverance and survival does not fit the white supremacist logic of Texas Settler Colonialism.
Texas Education is Wack
The way history is taught not only shapes cultural understanding but also influences how young learners see themselves and their place in history. I genuinely hate how sanitized narratives can rob all students—whatever their background—of dignity and truth. My Black kids, nieces, nephews and little cousin’s have to be educated in this anti-black curriculum. Personal experiences matter, but rigorous archival research is essential. By digging deeper, during this elementary school field trip.. I found untold stories of Black resistance, the realities of settler colonialism, and even links between anti-slavery stances in Mexico and the migration patterns of those escaping bondage in Texas.
I have a whole degree in African and African American Studies which I learned none of this Black Texas History. I made all A’s that year in 7th grade Texas History, but learned not drop of Black Texas History.
This why I started that petition to Demand Inclusive Black History Education Nationwide. Texas education left a void where my history should have been. I learned the simplified, single-story of Black people—a narrative of oppression that peaked in February and ignored our profound contributions, joy, and intellect. This omission didn’t just leave me uninformed; it left me disconnected from a vital part of my own identity.
The Legal Erasure: Texas Republic’s 1836 Constitution
The position of Black people was not just a social reality but was explicitly codified into law by the Republic of Texas. The 1836 Constitution established a rigid racial hierarchy.
Summary of Key Provisions Affecting Black People:
* Protection of Slavery: Slavery was explicitly legalized. Congress was forbidden from emancipating enslaved people or interfering with the slave trade.
* Ban on Emancipation: Enslavers were prohibited from freeing the people they enslaved without the consent of Congress.
* Ban on Free Black Residents: No free person of African descent was permitted to reside permanently in the Republic without the consent of Congress. This law effectively threatened banishment upon the entire free Black population.
* Restricted Citizenship: Citizenship and the right to vote were explicitly reserved for “free white persons”.
Black Resistance
You’ll hear about the legal banishment of free Black people, the creative ways enslaved people resisted, and how Mexico’s anti-slavery stance made it a destination for Black folks seeking freedom south of the border. These histories matter and deserve space in our classrooms and collective memory.
The myth of post-colonial “innocence” and how foundational acts of settler colonialism and anti-Blackness are sanitized in public school narratives. Conversations around figures like Stephen F. Austin highlight the need to challenge romanticized versions and confront the realities of human trafficking and racial violence.
The myth-making ain’t accidental. Let’s the draw parallels between Texas’ “Lost Cause” narratives and those across the South, where the Confederacy is framed as a noble struggle for states’ rights rather than a fight to preserve slavery. This rewriting of history is protected fiercely by political leaders—reminded by recent battles over Confederate monuments and curriculum laws.
When Black labor is central to cultural phenomena (football, music, oil), Black suffering and labor are left out of political history. The episode emphasizes “research over me search”—digging deeper, asking critical questions, and refusing to accept sanitized versions of the past.
Why does all this matter? Because the sanitized, one-sided Texas history keeps repeating itself—in policy, in culture, in how communities see themselves. Knowing the truth isn’t “woke,” it’s essential for healing, empowerment, and actual progress.
Cited Sources:
* https://www.thealamo.org/remember/battle-and-revolution/joes-account
* https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/campfire-stories/african-americans
* https://www.aaihs.org/runaway-slaves-to-mexico-and-the-road-to-the-civil-war/
* https://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/republic-texas-1836/general-provisions
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Conscious Lee is a passionate commentator and educator hailing from Texas, known for his candid and thought-provoking insights on social and political issues. Often blending a sense of humor with raw honesty, Lee shares his daily experiences with his audience, whether he’s misplacing his glasses or wrestling with the rapid pace of the news cycle. Deeply invested in issues affecting his home state, he frequently voices his frustration with Texas history education and the overwhelming flood of chaotic headlines that dominate the media. Through each discussion, Conscious Lee both challenges and connects with listeners, encouraging critical thinking amid a world awash in confusion and turmoil.
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