Absolute Equality:  Pursuing the Promise 

 

African American Texas History has been thrust onto the national and regional stage by an unprecedented number of bills signed into law in 2021.  On the federal level, President Joseph Biden signed the S. 475 Act, which designated Juneteenth National Independence Day.   On the state level, Governor Greg Abbott signed several bills that threaten to undermine the promise of “absolute equality” inherent in Juneteenth, including but not limited to House Bill 2497 (which offers Project 1836 as an alternative to the 1619 project), Senate Bill 1 (which encourages voter suppression), and House Bill 3979 (an extensive response to critical race theory). 

 

Given the above developments, SWATH 2021, "Absolute Equality:  Pursuing the Promise,” welcomes experts in law, education, and history to do the following:  (1) comment on the breadth and scope of the new pieces of legislation in question; (2) discuss whether or how they infringe on intellectual freedom; (3) outline their impact on  K-16 curriculums, pedagogy, and collaborations with higher education and private foundations; (4) identify strategies/approaches for teaching African American Texas history as central to Texas history and US history; and (5) highlight the ways in which African American Texas history is conversant with other Texas histories and beyond, including American Indian, Asian, American African, Caribbean, European, Jewish, Latinx history, and others.   

 

The workshop schedule is as follows: 

 

Day 1:  Wednesday, July 28, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM:  S. 475 Act-117th Congress (2021-2022) (The Juneteenth Bill) and Texas House Bill 2497 (Dr. Brian Franklin and Dr. Collette Bloom; Moderator, Dr. Ramona Houston)

Day 2: Thursday, July 29, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Texas Senate Bill 1 (Dr. Merline Pitre and Professor Tomiko Meeks; Moderator, Nelva Williamson)

Day 3: Friday, July 30, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Texas House Bill 3979  (Dr. Darlene Breaux, TABSE-TEPI, Dr. James Douglas, Dr. Jesse Esparza; Moderator, Dr. Karen Kossie-Chernyshev)

 

Please join us as we demonstrate SWATH's commitment to Juneteenth's promise of "absolute equality," as well as to best practices in studying, teaching, and researching local, regional, national, and international dimensions of African American history and culture.