DEFUNDING THE MARXIST UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS WOULD BE MUCH BETTER

TX Senator Calls for State Historian’s Ouster

 

By Jonathan Richie 

The Dallas Express

July 23, 2023

 

                          

                                            Chief Historian Walter Buenger

 

A state lawmaker is demanding university officials decline to renew the contract of the current chief historian of the Texas State Historical Association because of the academic’s alleged denigration of Texas history.

“Today I asked UT to replace the holdover [TSHA] Chief Historian, who has repeatedly marginalized and denigrated our heroic Alamo history and the Texian fight for independence,” tweeted Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston). “All Texans deserve a TSHA Chief Historian that promotes Texas history and the exceptionalism of this great state.”

In a letter Middleton sent to Ann Huff Stevens, dean of the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Liberal Arts, the lawmaker wrote, “It has come to my attention that the Texas State Historical Association’s contract with Chief Historian, Walter Buenger, has expired. I respectfully ask that you not renew his contract.”

Buenger was jointly appointed by the university and TSHA, Texas Monthly reported.

“As a historian, the TSHA Chief Historian should be actively promoting Texas history and encouraging student engagement with our State’s rich history in a way that does not try to re-write it,” Middleton wrote, claiming that Buenger casts Texas history in a negative light and referred to the “Remember the Alamo” battle cry as “wartime propaganda.”

 

 

“Further, he claims that our history surrounding the Alamo is the ‘Heroic Anglo Narrative.’ There are many more examples of Mr. Buenger attacking or marginalizing Texas history,” Middleton alleged. “Considering his hostile view of Texas history, it is disappointing that Mr. Buenger continues serving as the TSHA’s Chief Historian.”

Middleton’s letter came amidst legal tensions between TSHA’s board of directors and Executive Director J.P. Bryan Jr., a lay Texas historian and noted philanthropist.

According to the conservative-leaning Texas history organization Texas History Trust, Bryan had “parachuted in and bailed the organization out financially, for the fourth or fifth time in his life” when he stepped into the position. However, Bryan’s more traditional view of Texas history did not mesh well with the historical interpretations of the credentialed academics on the board who moved to fire him.

Bryan sued the board over his ouster, alleging a violation of TSHA bylaws. He scored an early victory by securing an injunction to stop the process until it could be heard in court, The Texas Tribune reported.

Recently, Bryan and the board agreed to enter mediation in an attempt to avoid further legal wrangling over the organization. Bryan explained to The Texan, “This is a positive step toward eliminating the discord and refocusing the organization on its mission to document and share the rich, diverse history of Texas.”

For his part, Chief Historian Buenger has denounced the resistance to his interpretation of Texas history. “Since the late 80s, we have made substantial progress. You’re seeing now a sort of reaction to that substantial progress,” Buenger said, per The Texas Tribune.

“The squabbles in the history association threaten a presentation of history that gives dignity to all and is honest and accurate,” he claimed.

Reactions to Sen. Middleton’s letter varied, with some — like former Granbury ISD school board member Christopher Tackett — denouncing it as an example of “White Christian Nationalism.”

Similarly, Texas musician Roger Wallace tweeted, “People like this prefer their history in campfire story form than in factual form. No, we don’t need historians who ‘promote TX history’, we need historians who tell facts.”

However, others cheered on Middleton and insisted that Buenger had failed to preserve and present factually accurate history.

Hillary Hickland wrote, “As a 9th generation Texan, with ancestors at the siege of Bexar, preserving Texas history is so important to me. Thank you @mayes_middleton!”

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Middleton: Official Texas Historian Shouldn’t Hate Texas

 

By Roy Maynard 

 

 

Texas Public Policy Foundation

July 21, 2023 

 

Noting that the term for the current Texas State Historical Association chief historian has expired, state Sen. Mayes Middleton is calling on the University of Texas at Austin to appoint a replacement who hasn’t belittled the Alamo defenders and early Texas residents.

Chief Historian Walter Buenger, Ph.D., has been chief historian for the TSHA since 2017.

“As a historian, the Chief Historian should be actively promoting Texas history and encouraging student engagement with our state’s rich history in a way that does not try to rewrite it,” Middleton wrote in a letter to UT-Austin Dean of Liberal Arts, who appoints the chief historian to the quasi-governmental TSHA.

“Mr. Buenger frequently paints our exceptional Texas history in a negative light and even wrote a positive review of the despicable book, ‘Forget the Alamo,’ claiming that our beloved battle cry ‘Remember the Alamo’ is ‘wartime propaganda,’” Middleton wrote. “Further, he claims that our history surrounding the Alamo is the ‘heroic Anglo narrative.’ There are many such examples of Mr. Buenger attacking or marginalizing Texas history.”

Buenger has also claimed the Alamo story has been “misused” by Texans to “commemorate whiteness.”

The Texas State Historical Association has been rocked in recent months by efforts by Buenger and other board members to push out TSHA Executive Director J.P. Bryan, a lifelong member of the group who has financially bailed out the nonprofit time and time again. Bryan, whose ancestors fought alongside fought in the Texas Revolution, was deemed insufficiently woke to lead the organization. When some TSHA board members called a meeting with the intention of firing Bryan, he sued—and won a stay.

The TSHA is a nonprofit that publishes academic journals, holds conferences and publishes both the Handbook of Texas and the Texas Almanac. It plays a significant role in how the history of Texas is taught in the Lone Star State’s public schools, but Bryan and other observers believe the TSHA has lurched leftward, losing supporters, donors—and relevance.

The TSHA’s bylaws stipulate that the board must be balanced between academics and non-academics (like Bryan). But in recent years, the board has become more and more dominated by academics, who are predictably left-leaning. Bryan is asking that the TSHA conform to its own bylaws.

“Non-academics make up about 90% of our membership, and about 99% of our donors,” Bryan said. “I don’t think that most of our membership wants to support a woke organization. It’s just that simple. We all love Texas and Texas history. We’re not about tearing down statues; we’re about building up Texas.”

Bryan and the TSHA announced last week that the case will go to mediation. Bryan’s attorney, Eric Lipper, doesn’t hold out much hope for an amicable agreement. Lipper told the Houston Chronicle that mediation is most useful when two parties are merely trying to reach an agreement on a dollar amount. But Bryan isn’t asking for any money.

“This is a case where it’s not about paying money, but coming to a resolution on how to get the board balanced,” Lipper said.

For his part, Sen. Middleton says that Buenger’s hostility to Texas history make him inappropriate for the role of chief historian.

“I expect swift action to be taken to ensure this affront does not continue,” Middleton wrote. “The Texas State Historical Association needs a new Chief Historian, one that promotes Texas history and the exceptionalism of this great state.”