Eff You, Texas School Board

Last month, the Texas School Board passed a new, substantially revised history & social studies curriculum that will affect all of the state's public schools, with the potential to affect public schools across our great nation. As one of the two biggest textbook consumers in the country (the other being California), it is possible that textbook publishers will be economically compelled to reflect Texas's new curriculum in its nationally-distributed books. That said, there are some, including Robert Scott, Texas's Commissioner of Education, who believe that this is less of an issue than many people think due to the rise of desktop publishing and other technologies. Let us hope that Mr. Scott is correct, and that this travesty does not expand beyond Texas's borders.

The school board's decisions very clearly reflect a religious, political, and racial agenda. The Republicans on the school board may deny such a claim, explaining that they are merely correcting for a liberal bias. Texas democrats call it like it is, describing the recent changes as an effort to "whitewash" history. Indeed, Texas Republicans have left their dirty little fingerprints on everything from the Civil War, to the Constitution, to music.

Yes, folks, music. The school board voted to strike hip-hop from a list of "culturally significant movements" and replace it with country & western.

Please excuse me while I vomit.

Look, Texas, feel free to add country & western music to the list. It has certainly exerted its influence over the years. Elvis, for example, was clearly influenced by country music, and he in turn influenced lots of early rock n' rollers, including the Beatles, and they... well, they pretty much influenced everybody. At one point, country & western music (and folk music) filled a similar role to that of hip-hop. Look at Johnny Cash, for example. You can easily draw connections between his brand of outlaw country and gangsta rap. So why does Cash's genre deserve the attention of our country's young people, while gangsta rap does not? The answer is obvious: Cash is white.

It's hard for me to think of a musical movement that has been more culturally relevant than hip-hop over the last 30 years. Has any movement, musical or otherwise, done more to shed light on the tragedy that is our nation's inner cities? While television was taking baby steps, displaying black families in a typically white, middle-class milieu (The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, etc.), Public Enemy was releasing incisive tracks like "9-1-1 is a Joke." 2Pac was expressing the despair of a people in tracks like "Changes." Wu-Tang was rapping about urban violence and H.I.V. in tracks like "Tearz." Biggie was spitting rhymes about the "Everyday Struggles" that his community faced. The list goes on--can you think of a more genuine, charismatic tribute to one's mother than 2Pac's "Dear Mama"? And yet Texas thinks that these songs do not a significant cultural movement make.

Wow.

I know that not all hip-hop has been culturally relevant--over the past decade, much of it has focused to the glorification of violence, wealth, bling, etc. Frankly, I think we may have just seen mainstream hip-hop's own hair-metal/glam-rock phase, which I hope will soon be left behind in favor of a more expressive, relevant form.

So, why, Texas School Board, did you decide to not only add country & western, but remove hip hop from your list? Is it because hip-hop makes you uncomfortable? Is it because hip-hop's content calls into question the benefits of the capitalist--oh wait, pardon me; I understand that you've replaced the word "capitalism" with "free enterprise"--system of trickle-down economics? Or is it because you believe that this is a white, Christian country and that minorities don't belong in the story?

Whatever the reason, I have only have one more thing to say: fuck you, Texas School Board. Despite your best efforts, you've done nothing to reduce the hip-hop's relevance--you've only reduced your own.

2Pac - Dear Mama (YSI) (filesavr)
Notorious B.I.G. - Everyday Struggles (YSI) (filesavr)
Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz (YSI) (filesavr)