I know I dropped my membership about that time because they became super woke in their periodical about that time. Didn't know that was the reason though.

I've been a member of TSHA for over 20 years and I've noticed the same drift to critical studies as BQ78. This argument boiled down to who would set the course for the Association: the academics or the lay members. As the Houston Chronicle put it, "Will the association focus on telling histories from the perspectives of marginalized groups or will it valorize traditional heroes?"

The CRT trend is poisonous and divisive and should have no place in the TSHA. The crap Buenger was pushing was leading us down the road of the 1619 Project. I think J.P. Bryan has handed us a victory over the entryists who were taking over the TSHA and we are lucky to have him.

My sense is that a lot of local history all over the US, and particularly in Texas, was completely one-sided in the past, especially in the early 20th century. History was presented in a completely black and white manner, with some individuals being total heroes and others totally evil. It ignored the contributions of, and the wrongs done to, people of color.

Sometime late in the 20th century that changed, with a more balanced approach being attempted. The balanced approach showed people as they truly were. That is, heroes had flaws, bad guys had good aspects, and people of color had both contributed a lot but had also been badly wronged.

Today, it seems that academic historians have swung to the opposite side of the spectrum from that of the early 20th century. They make no attempt to present a balanced picture but instead portray all whites as completely evil and all people of color solely as wronged heroes.