Black Caucus objects to proposed changes in Tennessee history requirements

State Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, second from left, looks over a House Republican redistricting plan on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Nashville.
State Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, second from left, looks over a House Republican redistricting plan on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Nashville.



NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators voiced concern today over proposed changes in public textbooks they warn would eliminate major aspects of civil rights movement history in the state.

Among their concerns are proposals to drop from now-required lesson plans mention of the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, a major player in the civil rights movement which counted Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks among its alumni and Eleanor Roosevelt and Pete Seeger among its supporters.

Other concerns include the "Tent City" movement in rural West Tennessee that sprang up in the early 1960s after black tenant farmers were evicted by white landlords after blacks demanded the right to vote.

Another concern includes dropping mention of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alex Haley of West Tennessee, whose novel "Roots: The Saga of an American Family" became a bestseller and later a national television miniseries phenomenon in 1977 that ignited interest among American blacks about their past.

And yet another issue is a proposal to drop mention of several prominent figures in Tennessee's movement to extend the right to vote to women. Tennessee became the deciding state in ratifying the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, the Black Caucus' chairwoman, said today that more than ever students here need to learn about the significant contributions made by blacks to Tennessee's rich cultural heritage.

"The Highlander Folk School and the tent city movement are some of the more significant events in the history of the state," Gilmore said in a news release. "Even more importantly, Alex Haley's 'Roots' saga captivated both the nation and the world by vividly showing the struggle of African Americans in this country. It's shocking to think that could be excluded from Tennessee textbooks."

Rep. Karen Camper, D-Memphis, urged the public to get involved and weigh in on a Tennessee Board of Education website. The proposed changes to K-12 social studies standards have several steps to go before being approved by education officials.

"We can't sit idly by and let these changes occur without our input," Camper said. "We need to go to the Department of Education website and weigh in on these important proposals. It's critical that we make sure our voices are heard and protect our heritage."

Top Republican legislative leaders, all of whom are white, have also weighed in with concerns over proposed changes as have a number of Tennessee historians.

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