When History Gets Uncomfortable, What Do We Do?
Well, folks, it seems there’s a new kind of battle brewing at the Alamo, and it’s not about cannons or courageous last stands. This time, it’s about… well, it’s about history itself, and what gets to be said about it. And it seems that some versions of history are just too “woke” for certain folks in power [1].
The Uncomfortable Truths and the “Woke” Label
Remember when you were a kid and you learned about the Alamo? Grand tales of heroes, right? Turns out, like most things in life, the full story is a bit more complex. And when the Alamo Trust, the folks who manage the famous Texas battle site, tried to acknowledge a broader historical context, specifically recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day [5], things went sideways, fast.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who oversees the Alamo, was not amused. She quickly labeled such recognition as “woke” and, frankly, deemed it forbidden [4]. Her office launched an investigation into how the site’s online content was approved [6]. In a letter to the Alamo Trust Board, Buckingham expressed “serious doubts about the lack of oversight and accountability” after the site posted a message recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day [7]. Imagine that, folks, simply acknowledging that other people existed and had a history before Columbus got here. Buckingham made it clear: “Woke Has No Place at Alamo” [2].
The Ousting of Kate Rogers
This whole brouhaha ultimately led to the ousting of Kate Rogers, the president of the Alamo Trust [1]. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick openly called for her resignation [2], specifically citing views she expressed in a 2023 doctoral dissertation [3]. It’s a bit like getting fired from your job for something you wrote in a college paper, isn’t it? The core issue seems to be Rogers’s approach to incorporating a more comprehensive historical narrative, one that perhaps includes Indigenous communities and their past connections to the Alamo site [4]. The Alamo Trust Board even issued an apology for the social media post commemorating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which has since been deleted [5].
It’s an interesting situation when recognizing Indigenous communities and their history is called “woke” and forbidden, especially when you consider that one of the Alamo’s most famous defenders, Davy Crockett, actually defended Native American rights during his time in Congress [4]. Talk about irony!
What Does This Mean for History?
So, what does this all mean for how we teach and remember history? It seems there’s a push to control the narrative, to ensure that only certain parts of the past are highlighted, while others are conveniently swept under the rug. This isn’t just about a social media post; it’s about a $550 million project to redevelop the Alamo, and these “anti-woke” demands are looming large over its future [6].
As a dad, I always tell my kids: learn from everything. The good, the bad, the uncomfortable. History isn’t meant to make us feel perpetually good; it’s meant to teach us the truth, in all its messy glory. When we sanitize history, we lose its most valuable lessons. And it seems we’re learning a tough lesson right now about who gets to decide what history is told at one of Texas’s most iconic sites.
Sources & Footnotes
- https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/10/24/alamo-leader-out-over-clash-with-texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-allegations-of-wokeness/ ↩
- https://conchoobserver.com/2025/10/24/buckingham-woke-has-no-place-at-alamo/ ↩
- https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/24/alamo-indigenous-people-texas-land-commissioner-museum/ ↩
- https://www.tpr.org/news/2025-10-15/texas-land-commissioner-buckingham-rejects-alamos-recognition-of-indigenous-peoples-day ↩
- https://www.chron.com/politics/article/the-alamo-is-apologizing-for-social-media-post-21111953.php ↩
- https://www.expressnews.com/news/texas/article/alamo-indigenous-peoples-post-removed-buckingham-21100527.php ↩
- https://texasscorecard.com/state/land-commissioner-calls-for-accountability-over-woke-alamo-social-media-post/ ↩
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