By Lydia Parker

As of late, the discussion of women’s rights and experiences of discrimination have permeated schools, workplaces and our everyday lives. The #MeToo movement is a force to be reckoned with, as numerous sexual harassers and abusers have been called out in the entertainment industry, business world and U.S. government.

As the midterm elections approach, numerous news sources are reporting the ‘pink wave’ of female politicians running for office at all levels of government. To many, 2018 appears to be, in all respects, the year of the woman.

Therefore, in this era of celebrated feminism and female empowerment, it is jarring to encounter a news story which seems to run contrary to this attitude.

This fact is precisely why I did a double take when I read the following headline from an article from The Huffington Post: “Texas Board Votes to Cut Hillary Clinton, Helen Keller From History Courses.”

Yes, Hillary Clinton, former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state, as well as the first female candidate to receive a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party, will be removed from the mandatory curriculum in Texas, based on votes cast by the Texas State Board of Education.

Helen Keller, the first blind and deaf American to earn a bachelor’s degree, who is lauded as an influential author and activist, will also be removed from the state’s curriculum.

How can two powerful examples of female accomplishment be erased from school curriculum? Why does this action feel so contrary to the prevailing cultural attitude in 2018? These are the questions on my mind.

According to The Huffington Post article, “The changes are part of an effort to selectively ‘streamline’ information in history classes for some 5.4 million schoolchildren.”

The article states that the Texas State Board of Education rated potential candidates for removal, like Clinton and Keller, on a scale of “numerical importance…from one to 20,” giving Clinton a five and Keller a seven.

In this preliminary vote, committee members casted votes in favor of the removal of figures such as Clinton and Keller, while supporting the continued presence of other figures in question.

The committee also debated “cutting a ‘value-laden’ phrase about ‘all the heroic defenders who gave their lives’ in the 1836 battle of the Alamo against Mexican soldiers in what was then Mexican Texas.”

In this case, as the committee chose to neither remove nor alter the phrase; this pro-military phrasing will continue to be used in Texas history curriculum.

The New York Post reported that “While Clinton and Keller were scrapped, evangelist and Baptist pastor Billy Graham – who was also recommended for removal by the committee – was spared. So were references to Moses, and his ‘influence’ on America’s founding documents.”

The article reports, “Removing the former first lady and secretary of state will save teachers 30 minutes of instruction time, and axing Keller will save 40 minutes, the advisory committee estimated, according to the [Dallas Morning News].”

Clinton had previously been part of the citizenship section of Texas history curriculum, but “the board’s advisory committee determined she ‘does not best represent the concept of citizenship.’”

The rationale given to support the removal of Clinton and Keller from state curriculum makes the decision appear even stranger, as both women are certainly members of underrepresented groups. Both are female, Keller was disabled and Clinton is a woman in a male-dominated profession.

This decision by the Texas State Board of Education seems at odds with the other changes made in 2018 and the previous few years. Keller is a powerful example of achievement by a disabled, female American. Clinton is an exceptionally relevant political figure, whose importance and participation in politics and history stretches from the 1980s to present day.

Especially in the case of Clinton, this removal seems fairly absurd. Clinton is not simply a one-time presidential hopeful, though her legacy as the first female Presidential nominee for a major U.S. party should be reason enough to cement her position in the curriculum in schools.

Rather, she has served the U.S. government as its first lady, New York State’s senator, the nation’s secretary of state and a prominent Presidential candidate twice over.

Beyond her positions held on paper, Clinton has become a symbol of what women can accomplish in the face of gender stereotypes and glass ceilings. There should be no questions regarding her relevance and importance in the curriculum of schoolchildren in Texas.

The decision to remove Clinton and Keller from the Texas school curriculum is a dark spot on this year of female achievement and serves as a reminder of the obstacles that even the most accomplished women continue to face.

Lydia Parker, FCRH ’20, is an English major from Beverly, Massachusetts.