Brian Franklin, a historian at Southern Methodist University, wonders how the politicians in Texas can reconcile their support for teaching about Juneteenth while banning honest teaching about slavery and racism. Franklin previously wrote a brilliant article about Governor Abbott’s “1836 Project” to teach Texas history based on the founding documents. He pointed out that the state’s founding documents were shot through with racism.
In this new article, he writes:
On June 16, Texas history made the news twice. Both developments, in strikingly different ways, present an opportunity for history teachers to engage with their students anew about history, with all its intriguing complications, and its promise for teaching us today.
The bill’s supporters bar teachers from teaching their students even the concept that slavery was part of the founding ideals of the United States.
In a strangely bipartisan scene, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution to establish Juneteenth (June 19) as a national holiday, to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat, joined Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, and Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat, in leading the effort.
Later that afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott unceremoniously signed HB 3979 into law, a bill that joins a host of others across the country known by some as “anti-1619” bills. In this act to alter the social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools, the bill’s supporters bar teachers from teaching their students even the concept that slavery was part of the founding ideals of the United States.
Spirit of Sam Houston, we have a problem.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Will they be teaching about the Confederate Constitution which promoted and continued slavery full force? Whoops!
Confederate Constitution:
Article I, Section 9, Clause 4 prohibited the Confederate government from restricting slavery in any way:
“No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.”
Article IV, Section 2 also prohibited states from interfering with slavery:
“The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States; and shall have the right of transit and sojourn in any State of this Confederacy, with their slaves and other property; and the right of property in said slaves shall not be thereby impaired.”
Perhaps the most menacing provision of the Confederate States Constitution was the explicit protection Article IV, Section 3, Clause 3 offered to slavery in all future territories conquered or acquired by the Confederacy: “The Confederate States may acquire new territory; and Congress shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the Confederate States, lying without the limits of the several States; and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form States to be admitted into the Confederacy. In all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected by Congress and by the Territorial government; and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories shall have the right to take to such Territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States or Territories of the Confederate States.”
The US does better with large scale Hallmark moments on the National stage than substantive change on the state level. I doubt that Abbott and most Texas policymakers even care to reconcile their hypocrisy about the Civil War and Juneteenth Day. Juneteenth will likely continue to be observed in Black communities and by a handful of white progressives in the state. Merchants will advertise their Juneteenth sales days, but all the hoopla will not give Texas Black folks access to healthcare or the right to vote. A recent study revealed that life expectancy fell across the US due to the pandemic, The decline for Black Americans was a drop of 2.7 years. A country without universal healthcare is not an equitable nation.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/02/18/covid-us-life-expectancy-record-low-blacks-latinos-most-affected/6778474002/
I have a friend who is discussing this very thing. She said on Juneteenth: “While it’s good that we have a holiday now, we can’t lose sight of the real concern–and that’s the removal of voting rights.” She feels that passing the Juneteenth bill, for some Congresspersons, was a way to deflect from the removal of voting rights and anti-CRT bills being enthusiastically supported by many of these same people.
I heartily concur.
“States with Republican governors had highest Covid incidence and death rates, study finds – The study found that states with Democratic governors had higher death rates early on in the pandemic, but that trend was reversed by the Fourth of July.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/states-republican-governors-had-highest-covid-incidence-death-rates-study-n1260700
Then there’s this: States ranked by percentage of the population fully vaccinated: June 24
Scroll to the bottom of the list to discover how most of the GOP-controlled states lead the country with the lowest vaccination rates.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/states-ranked-by-percentage-of-population-vaccinated-march-15.html
I wonder if that is a setup for the perfect COVID Delta virus storm when that variant of COVID sweeps across the US.
“The variant, first identified in India, is the most contagious yet and, among those not yet vaccinated, may trigger serious illness in more people than other variants do, say scientists tracking the spread of infection.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/06/22/1008859705/delta-variant-coronavirus-unvaccinated-u-s-covid-surge
When the 2022 midterm election arrives, would it be poetic justice if so many unvaccinated, no mask-wearing, climate-denying Traitor Trump MAGA minion voters died from the DELTA strain of COVID, that the GOP ends up losing more sweats to the Democrats in Congress and state legislatures?