Letter to the Editor: Writer’s history of Alamo needs clearing up

A recent Letter to the Editor by Beverly E. Monahan refers to the Alamo in San Antonio to remind President Joe Biden of our sacred land (“President Biden should remember the Alamo,” Feb. 24). I wish when people write such passion-imbued stories, they would actually do their research.

The battle of the Alamo was not about the freedom of Texians. Those “Texians” you mention wanted slavery in their territory, and Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the leader of Mexico, was an abolitionist. The battle of the Alamo was not about the sanctity of our borders. In fact, that land was part of Mexico, so the “Texians” were actually rebelling against the country that held the land. The battle of the Alamo was not about supposed American colonists protecting the sanctity of our land. Many, many Mexicans joined the fight against Santa Anna. And the battle of the Alamo was not fought to the last man, as many of the defenders of the Alamo escaped. Many of those were killed by the Mexican army.

The story of the Alamo is a “heroic Anglo narrative.” In the last 40 years, it has been disputed in many books, and it isn’t as pretty as many Anglo writers depict.

Your simplification has been in history books that were authored and approved by conservative White leaders, simply to mislead the public about the Alamo and its importance to the coast-to-coast expansion of the United States and the so-called “dangers” of Brown people from the South. This is why critical race theory or the correct education about the history of the United States is so important. When we all realize the importance of all peoples in making the United States the great country it is today, only then can we rise above the rampant racism that exists. It may take decades to root this out as the old guard of White history starts to die off, but with actions in our educational processes today, it can happen.

George “Jody” Sweeney

Wyoming