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ceo The nonprofit that manages the Alamo resigned after a powerful republican State officials publicly criticized him, suggesting that his views were not consistent with history. texas Religious place.
Kate Rogers said in a statement Friday that she had resigned the day before, succeeding lieutenant governor. dan patrick Wrote a letter to the Alamo Trust’s board of directors suggesting that he either resign or be removed. Patrick criticized her over an academic paper questioning the education policies of the GOP-controlled Legislature and suggested she seek a broader focus on historic sites in Texas.
“It is with mixed emotions that I resigned yesterday as president and CEO of Alamo Trust,” Rogers said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Recent events have made it clear that it is time for me to move on.”
Several trust officials did not immediately respond to emails or cellphone messages seeking comment Friday.
Patrick posted a letter to the board on X on Thursday, calling his paper “shocking.” He wrote it for his doctorate in global education from the University of Southern California in 2023. Patrick posted a portion online.
“I believe his judgment is now in serious question,” Patrick wrote. “He has a completely different vision of how the history of the Alamo should be told.”
It’s the latest episode in an ongoing conflict over how America tells its history. Patrick’s call to oust Rogers comes after President Donald Trump pressured Smithsonian museums in Washington to place less emphasis on slavery and other dark parts of America’s past.
The Alamo, known as the “Shrine of Texas Liberty”, attracts more than 1.6 million visitors per year. The Trust operates it under a contract with the Texas General Land Office, and the state plans to spend $400 million on renovations into a new museum and visitor center scheduled to open in 2027. Patrick presides over the Texas Senate.
In San Antonio, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, the county’s elected top administrator, condemned Patrick’s “gross political interference.”
“We need to take politics out of our teaching of history,” he said in a statement Friday.
In part of his paper, Rogers referred to the Texas Legislature’s “conservative agenda” in 2023, which includes bills to limit what can be taught about race and slavery in history courses.
She wrote, “Philosophically, I do not believe it is the role of politicians to dictate what professional teachers can or should teach in the classroom.”
Their paper also references the 2021 book, “Forget the Alamo,” which challenges the traditional historical narrative surrounding the 13-day siege of the Alamo during Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico in 1836.
Rogers noted that the book argues that a central cause of the war was the determination of Anglo settlers to keep slaves in bondage after Mexico had largely abolished it. Texas won the war and was an independent republic until it was annexed by the US in 1845.
Rogers also wrote that a city advisory council wanted to tell the “whole story” of the site, including its history as home to indigenous people – which state Republican leaders oppose. She said she would like to make the Alamo “a place that brings people together rather than tears them apart.”
“But,” he added, “politically it may not be possible at this time.”
Traditional narratives obscure the role of slavery in the Texas independence movement and portray the defenders of the Alamo as freedom fighters. Patrick’s letter called the siege “13 days of glory”.
The Mexican army attacked and overran the Texas defenses. But “Remember the Alamo” became a rallying cry for Texas forces.
“We must ensure that future generations never forget the sacrifices made for freedom,” Patrick wrote in his letter to the trust’s board. “I will continue to defend the Alamo against the rewriting of history today.”