Former Dallas Councilwoman and Historian asks Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott to Delay Meeting on Confederate Plaque Removal
Sandra Crenshaw, Native Texas African American historian says that her family like most African Americans built the Great State of Texas. Our story is intricately interwoven in the struggles, accomplishments, and governance of this State, including the years during the Confederate States of America.
Crenshaw asks to enjoin the six member Texas State Preservation Board from making any decisions on the removal of any historical monuments at their January 11th, 2019 meeting until 1.) The Government Code Sec. 443.003. is amended during this Legislative session to ensure that future TSPB Board appointments will reflect the diversity of our State, gender balance and a bipartisanship partnership or in the alternative that a 7th wheel be added especially if the subject is about African Americans. As a Texas native historian I’d like to be that person, she says.
Academic historians maintain that knowledge about our past is in truth written and rewritten by all sorts of people with different agendas. The Confederate Plaque is written from the perspective of those who erected it. Therefore, it is the historical perspective of that body at that time. Who qualifies a lawmaker 150 years later to say their perspective is incorrect. “There’s very little history recorded about our enslaved ancestors because we were listed as property. We didn’t have last names until the 1870s. “Only by connecting with the Europeans of this time period can we begin to document history of the enslaved In Texas.”
“We must know the pain of the past to understand the pain of the present to erase the pain in the future.”
Sandra Crenshaw Austin American Statesman June 2006
“How can the Governor of Texas, who himself has no ancestral ties to America, much less Texas during our early history, decide what is an accurate account of this darkest but defining period in this nation’s history. Our Lieutenant Governor is not a native Texan. Although Black History was passed down through oral folklore, Texas government must include the black perspective in making decisions. We must be a part of the discussion. I was raised in South Texas, Goliad and San Patricio County. Where is our geographical perspective represented on this board?
How can the Governor of Texas proceed with defining the History of Texas with a Board that is all White, Male Dominated and without bipartisanship.
In 2006, I asked my State Rep Jesse Jones to have the above picture entitled “Crowning Achievement” erected in the halls of the Texas State Capitol that includes my father’s family and other African American men who built the Texas Capitol building in 1888. My father’s Irish born 2ggrandfather, James Doyle was the superintendent of construction of the Texas State Capitol in 1852.
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GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE D. HISTORY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION
CHAPTER 443. STATE PRESERVATION BOARD
Sec. 443.001. BOARD. The State Preservation Board is an agency of the state.
Sec. 443.003. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) The board consists of the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, one senator appointed by the lieutenant governor, one representative appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, and one member appointed by the governor. The board member appointed by the governor must be a representative of the general public. A person is not eligible for appointment as the public member of the board if the person or the person’s spouse:
(1) is employed by or participates in the management of a business entity or other organization receiving funds from the board;
(2) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more than a 10 percent interest in a business entity receiving funds from the board; or
(3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible goods, services, or funds from the board, other than compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board membership, attendance, or expenses.
(b) The senator and representative appointed to the board serve two-year terms expiring on the date that the regular session of the legislature convenes. The governor’s appointee serves a two-year term expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
(c) The board functions performed by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and appointed senator and representative are additional functions of their other public offices.
(d) The governor’s appointee is entitled to a per diem as set by the General Appropriations Act for each day the person engages in board business. (e) The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker, as a member of the board, may designate a representative to act, including the ability to vote, on behalf of the member during a board meeting.
