Republicans and Evangelicals I Kanawha County Textbook War

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In 1974, Alice Moore was a member of the school board in Kanawha County, West Virginia. The board met to hear the recommendations of the textbook committee and approve them. But Alice protested when she read a portion from the Autobiography of Malcolm X, which thanked Allah for preventing Malcolm X from being a black Christian. From there they uncovered a number of potentially offensive texts, some because of language, others because of discussions of rape. Race was likely a factor as well, though Moore denied it.

Local pastors decried what they saw as secularism and humanism creeping into public schools. Parents blocked school buses, and others kept their children at home. Soon, there were fights, and dynamite was used to blow up school buildings. What started as a disagreement over books erupted into an all-out war. One that echoed in other parts of the country at the same time as families wrestled with changes in education.

Sources:

• "The Great Textbook Wars" - award-winning documentary on the battle
• "The Invisible Bridge" by Rick Perlstein
• "Soul on Ice" by Eldrige Cleaver (archive.org)
• "Androcles and the Lion" by Aesop
• Texas Monthly article about the Gablers
• Video of the Gablers talking to William F Buckley on "Firing Line"
• The New York Times article about schools closed in WV
• The New York Times article about the textbook war
• Radio interview about the John Birch Society

Discussion Questions:

• Had you heard of the textbook war before?
• What did you think of the passage from "Soul on Ice"? Should it be read by senior students headed for college? What about other students?
• Who should decide what gets taught in local school districts? How about nationally?
• How did Alice Moore and others act appropriately? How about inappropriately?
• The KKK and John Birch Society show up a few times this season, often opportunistically. Does their appearance automatically smear all participants as racist?
• What else was going on in 1974 that could have escalated the panic of the era?

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