Progressive Views: The Other America
Current bills in the Texas Legislature continue the inherent unfairness, poverty, racism and social disorder in our nation. Senate Bill (SB) 18, currently before the Texas Legislature, would abolish tenure in an effort to intimidate college educators to teach what folks in Austin want. House Bill (HB) 1804 would censor classroom lessons and ban books from schools and libraries, many of them about the experiences of people of color and LGBTQ folks. Bills like SB 8, which would steal money from our public schools to fund private school vouchers, is also a sad example of efforts to censor free speech. Students should receive a truthful education and access to books that reflect the diversity of our state and country. We simply do not have a level playing field but a nation where the “Rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” To make the “American Dream” real for everyone we must help the poorest among us to have access to decent housing, proper nutrition, and most of all quality education for the young.
