‘Kill. Me. Now’: Texas Proposal to Call Slavery ‘Involuntary Relocation’ in Second Grade Classes Shocks Twitter
(Photo by Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images)
Social media erupted in response to a group of Texas educators’ proposal to the State Board of Education’s search to update the public school curriculum, suggesting “involuntary relocation” be used to refer to slavery during second-grade social studies.
According to the Texas Tribune, the board has rejected this proposal unanimously and “directed the work group to revisit that specific language,” said Keven Ellis, chair of the Texas State Board of Education in a statement.
The Texas Board of Education was fielding proposals in order to develop a new elementary school social studies curriculum, an updating process that occurs once every 10 years. The group of nine educators submitted their proposal in response to the Board of Education’s call to advise the agency on restructuring their curriculum. The group consists of teachers, social studies specialists, and a university professor.
In a statement posted to Twitter from the Texas Education Agency, they confirmed that the Board was not receptive to the group’s proposal, providing feedback “indicating that the working group needed to change the language related to ‘involuntary relocation.'”
Statement from the Texas Education Agency (1/2) https://t.co/AS9sNYnDv0 pic.twitter.com/BjjwuN2eVE
— Texas Education Agency (@teainfo) June 30, 2022
The feedback to the proposal was given in a meeting in Austin on June 15th, which lasted over 13 hours. According to the Texas Tribune, the Texas Board of Education will have a final vote over the updated curriculum in November of this year.
This news comes as Texas’s education curriculum has been embroiled in controversy, over how American history should be taught in elementary schools across the state. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed a bill into law last year, prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 public schools within the state.
Many took to Twitter, expressing their outrage at the suggestion to refer to slavery as ‘involuntary relocation’, adding to the backlash to the proposal.
Kill. Me. Now. https://t.co/AzjAPmUB2U
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) July 1, 2022
“Involuntary relocation” for chattel slavery? Human bondage? The selling and buying of human beings from Africa or descended from Africans? Do people understand that for millions of u, this is family history? That for the country this represents a civil war? https://t.co/JLnS12l8p4
— Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) July 1, 2022
Whitewashing history!!! Slavery deniers are just as dangerous as Holocaust deniers.
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) June 30, 2022
Texas lawmakers want to refer to slavery as “involuntary relocation.”
This is trash. https://t.co/soDorM3EQa
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) June 30, 2022
Not the Onion! Texas educators propose eliminating the word “slavery” from textbooks, replacing it with “involuntary relocation.” https://t.co/yOPIWUDYON
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 30, 2022
Using the term “involuntary relocation” to refer to chattel slavery in the United States is the very definition of revisionist history. Reading this story, I wondered if this is how my Jewish friends feel when subjected to the ravings of Holocaust deniers. https://t.co/umePQgVPdW
— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) July 1, 2022
This is an obscene suggestion, profoundly wrong.
It has already been rejected it would appear, but the fact that it could be even suggested speaks volumes about the agenda behind the pushback on critical race theory. https://t.co/7UppKkYavO https://t.co/dXgi89Psmr
— Colm O’Gorman 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (@Colmogorman) July 1, 2022
Like they’re six weeks away from calling it “work from home.” https://t.co/ujwKsSOjPD
— Adam Rogers (@jetjocko) July 1, 2022
I propose referring the the Texas educator group as “involuntary morons.” https://t.co/P9g50rvxLL
— Steve Metz (@steven_metz) July 1, 2022
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