All students must have their history count
I grew up watching my mother, father and grandparents help build Houston. I am a third-generation resident of Houston’s Segundo Barrio, which I am now proud to serve as state representative for District 145.
I am grateful to understand that our family and people like us helped shape our city and our state. I want more of our Texas students to feel the same way. They need to understand that they, too, can make the choice to give back to our great state, beginning in their own community.
We must teach our history. In 1950, my family founded the Morales radio station, the first Spanish-language broadcast along the Gulf Coast.
From its Second Ward headquarters, KLVL-AM, “La Voz Latina,” broadcast news, regional Mexican music and educational programs. The station raised money for good causes, such as to help flood victims in the Rio Grande Valley, and sponsored programs like Yo Necesito Trabajo to help connect employers with job seekers. The Yo Necesito Trabajo program helped thousands of people find jobs, and became an important part of the station’s legacy.
The radio station brought together Spanish speakers from across the Houston area. KLVL was part of the history and growth of the Latino community in Segundo Barrio of Houston. That history makes me proud.
Houston media has changed significantly since 1950, and so have our communities. Today, Latinos in Texas include Mexican Americans, Central Americans, South Americans, Afro Latinos and more. We need to educate our youths so they can find inspiration in the efforts of the generations that came before us.
Our children may not see their family name on a building, a business or in a textbook. This often means they do not see how their community played a role in shaping Texas; they might not understand how civic engagement starts in their own backyard, or how they are on the road to influencing the rest of this great state and nation.
That is why I am proud to have refiled House Bill 45. This bill will count Mexican American Studies and African American Studies toward existing high school graduation requirements. Either would count as an alternative to the credit now required for either world history or world geography.
We should be proud of these courses. They were created by educators from Texas, and both curricula were the first of their kind approved by any state board of education in the nation. Even with these achievements, these courses are currently offered only as electives. This means they do not count toward high school social studies graduation requirements, sending the message to students and schools that they do not fully count.
HB 45 would provide more students with the opportunity to take these courses — courses proven to increase students’ involvement, attendance and performance, not just in that course, but throughout their education.
When students can take Mexican American or African American Studies, they hear that their community has played a role in shaping the course of our state and our nation. For folks who want to know more about other cultures, this is a great way to understand Texas-sized history.
This bill has made its own history.
Last session, it was the first of its kind to pass through the Texas House with both Democratic and Republican support. It passed in the Senate Education Committee, and again was the first of its kind to be supported by senators on both sides of the aisle. That makes me proud. It is clear that elected officials across both parties recognize the importance of all Texans feeling connected to our history. Texas history is that big.
Ultimately, the bill was not called for a vote on the Senate floor. With Rep. Charles Cunningham, R-Atascosita, signing on as a joint author, HB 45 continues to have bipartisan support. This session, we aim to send it to the governor’s desk.
I encourage community members to call their representatives and inspire them to give students this choice.
HB 45 can help students understand how they can shape the story of this great state. That is the feeling with which I was blessed to grow up. We must send the message to our youth that our history counts.