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The Project 1836 Advisory Committee held their first meeting on January 5, 2022. The committee was established by HB 2497 (Parker) (87R) to promote patriotic education and increase awareness of Texas values. The committee members spent a majority of the hearing discussing the goals the committee intends to carry out. A video of this hearing can be found here. 

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions. 

 Opening Comments 

Kevin Roberts – Chair 

  • Is the start of the year-long process to tell the story of Texas 
  • Texas is a unifying ideal focused on human flourishing; is especially important today as American public/rhetoric is fractured 
  • Will not be bashful in soliciting public input on this committee’s work 
  • Are ugly chapters of Texas history, committee will weigh those against the good chapters 

 

Rep. Tan Parker, Author of Establishing Legislation 

  • Committee is important with all the misinformation around; will handle the good and the bad of Texas’ history 
  • Committee will put together educational content and curriculum for current Texans and future Texans 
  • Committee is putting together a model for the rest of the states and the world 
  • Creighton – Excited about where this is going; will lean on you heavily for this process 
  • Creighton – Texas leads Florida those migrating from other states 
  • Is vitally important to protect Texas’ history 

 

Sen. Creighton, Committee Member, Sponsor of Establishing Legislation, and Vice Chair 

  • Will develop information for new Texans and those who already live here on what it means to be a Texan 
  • Need to know where we have been to figure out where we are going 

 

Former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Committee Member 

  • Discusses the international tourism at the Alamo and the work he did as Land Commissioner in getting Travis’ letter to the Alamo 
  • Are focused on depicting Texas “warts and all” 
  • Has been criticism of this effort, but the committee has not produced any work to criticize 

 

Edison, Committee Member 

  • Have taught multiple classes on ethnic studies and history 
  • Have not emphasizes civics education enough 
  • Believes in holistic education in teaching children about being virtuous, being committed, and holding values 

 

Dr. Don Frazier, Committee Member 

  • Previously a college professor; committee is not trying to look into the rearview mirror, but are looking through the windshield 
  • Country will be fine with Texas as an anchor point 
  • Alamo is a large part of Texas’ history, but need to be a part of the future business  
  • Need to have an opportunity for newcomers to have a place to fit into Texas’ story 
  • Failures of Texas are critical to the story of Texas; give us a frame of reference for successes 

 

Sherry Sylvester, Committee Member 

  • Are undergoing an attack on our history because of the “wart” and the ideals that were laid out that we did not meet 
  • That is what we are going to look at here 
  • Texans refuse to give up the belief that everyone can have an opportunity 
  • The more we know, the more we are informed about history 

 

Mac Woodward, Committee Member 

  • Spent 27 years working at Sam Houston Memorial Museum 
  • Cannot forget the principles and character of the people who made this state; both good and bad 
  • History of Texas told correctly 

 

Kevin Roberts 

  • Two members were unable to attend; Dr. Carolina Crimm and Dick Trabulsi 
  • Committee rules are adopted with one change from Patterson concerning public testimony 
  • Is the chair’s intention for the committee to meet monthly as there are deliverables due on September 1, 2022 
  • Would like the pamphlet for DPS to be delivered as soon as possible 
  • Patterson – Is there any historical significance to meeting dates like March 2 and April 21? 
  • I am a historian 
  • Meetings will be focused on invited testimony and there will be other meetings for public testimony that can be done virtually for this committee and sub committees 
  • Patterson – Jokingly asks if the committee has subpoena power as there is a certain individual they would like to testify 
  • The purpose and goals of this committee, as by the enacting legislation, are mainly deliverables 
  • Bill states the need to underscore the need for better patriotic education 
  • Patriotic education does not mean the belief in a faultless history of a society; is the belief in the desired goodness of a civil society 
  • Need to achieve this through civic education with competing perspectives 
  • Committee has been tasked with promoting awareness to residents of the state of the history of the state; are many chapters that are important as well as the Alamo 
  • Owe a report and a pamphlet by September 1, 2022 
  • Will have three working groups or subcommittees: 
  • Telling the Texas Story subcommittee will provide the report which will discuss the findings/work of the committee and the pamphlet the committee will make for DPS; Fraizer – Chair 
  • Voices Across Texas subcommittee will focus on outreach and hopefully will hold hearings around the state; Sylvester – Chair 
  • Scope of the Texas Story subcommittee will emphasize modern groups, businesses that are important to Texas and its economy; Sen. Creighton – Chair 
  • Will announce subcommittee members in February meeting 
  • Recommends all those on the committee and those who will testify to read the 1776 Commission report; gives a sense of what the committee wants to accomplish 
  • Do not aim to whitewash history, purpose is to tell the story and tell the facts 
  • Fact is the USA and Texas are the most prosperous places in the world and specifically Texas’ ideals that made that happen are under attack 
  • Would like a proposed list of who members would like to provide invited testimony 
  • Patterson – Would like to invite specific authors and members of print media; would like the author of Forget the Alamo to testify 
  • Edison – Representatives of the Texas Council of Social Studies 
  • Woodward – Public historians; Texas Association of Museums might have a list of those who would be good to testify, Texas Historical Commission 
  • Fraizer – Those actively engaged in the Texas Economy; need to tell us what the future workforce needs to know about Texas and how this project can be leaned toward that goal 
  • Fraizer – Specifically those from the oil and alternative energy industries 
  • Sylvester – State Demographer, Texas Education Agency colleges on what is going on with student demographics and what they know, and the Texas Historical Commission 

Closing Remarks 

  • Roberts – Closes reading passage from Seven Keys of Texas