On July 9th, Bryan Hughes, a member of the Texas State Senate, introduces bill 87(1) SB 3 for committee consideration in the state legislature. And in an effort to prevent "anti-American indoctrination" — an effort I believe is sincere on Hughes' part — he overreaches, erasing swathes of minority history from the social studies curriculum from kindergarten through grade 12. And on July 16, the bill passes in the Senate.

One part of the bill removes from K-12 curriculum "the history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong." Another strikes out "the history of Native Americans" and "historical documents related to the civic accomplishments of marginalized populations," like "Martin Luther King Jr.'s... 'I Have a Dream speech," "the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth," Amendments to the United States Constitution," and "The United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education."

I'm a sophomore in high school, and I fear that if SB 3 is signed into law, what remains is a condensed version of our Texan and American history that ignores, importantly, our racial struggles and triumphs. The heartbreak and the hope. The radical ideals we were founded on — of freedom and equality — and how we imperfectly lived them out. For how are we supposed to reckon with today's complications without real clarity around our past's challenges?

We — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents together — must tell the Texas House of Representatives that we insist on frank conversations around race in our classrooms. Take a stand against SB 3 by sharing this petition and heading to the Action Center.