Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Texas Commission Removes Books From Plantation Written By Slaves After White Woman Complains

Michelle Hass; Varner-Hogg Plantation
Texas History Trust/YouTube; Texas Historical Commission/YouTube

The Texas Historical Commission removed nearly two dozen books from gift shops of two former slave plantations after one White woman, Michelle Haas, complained.

The Texas Historical Commission removed nearly two dozen race-related books from two former slave plantations after a White woman, Michelle Haas, complained about their presence at the sites' gift shops.

While visiting the Varner-Hogg plantation last year, the amateur Texas historian became enraged over an informational video that, in her mind, focused too much on slavery and not enough on the owners of the sugar plantation.


In emails sent to commission board member David Gravelle, Haas also voiced her displeasure over books found in the gift shop at both Varner-Hogg and nearby Levi Jordan plantation.

Titles included those by Black academic historians Carol Anderson and Ibram X. Kendi, whose writings tackle the issue of systemic racism.

In an email to Gravelle in September of last year, Haas wrote:

“What a sh*tshow is this video."
"Add to that the fact that the activist staff member doing the buying for the gift shop thinks Ibram X. Kendi and 'White Rage' have a place at a historic site.”

Haas has her own book, 200 Years a Fraud, in which she disputes Solomon Northup’s claims in his 1853 memoir Twelve Years a Slave, arguing that such books paint the South in a bad light as slavery was “a socially acceptable and economically worthwhile practice worldwide at the time our thirteen colonies arose.”

According to Texas Monthly, Haas continued emailing Gravelle for the next eight months insisting the books, along with many others written about and by slaves, be removed.

Eventually, Gravelle took the matter up with Historical Commission, requesting action.

White Rage by Anderson and Stamped From the Beginning by Kendi, along with 23 other titles Haas deemed inappropriate, are no longer available at the historic sites. Other titles removed include Roots by Alex Haley, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison as well as autobiography of a slave girl and a book of Texas slave narratives.

People online were floored by Haas' request for the books' removal, but even more shocked by the commission's action.

@_raviee/X











The commission claimed the removal of books about slavery was part of an "inventory reduction plan" to halt all purchasing, sell through inventory, and identify merchandise to be removed.

Interestingly, there are now 39 titles for sale, down from the 87 available in June.

All 23 of Haas' proposed removals are no longer available for purchase on either plantation's website.

More from Trending

Sarah Jessica Parker
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Sarah Jessica Parker Claps Back At Conservative Critics Who Want Her To 'Shut Up' About Politics And 'Act'

Nothing seems to get conservatives' goats quite like celebrities having political opinions—well, liberal and leftist celebrities, anyway.

They seem to love it when weird right-wing celebs like Kevin Sorbo get on the internet and say bizarre, usually counterfactual nonsense, or when JK Rowling does her darnedest to make her legacy not about Harry Potter but about her weird obsession with trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ann Coulter
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Ann Coulter Faces Fierce Backlash After Saying 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Deleted Post

Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter is facing fierce criticism after she made a genocidal remark in a now-deleted post on X in response to University of Minnesota professor and Navajo Nation member Melanie Yazzie's speech about colonization.

Yazzie, in a speech at last year's annual Socialism Conference, said "decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species" during a panel hosted by Red Nation, a Native American nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian and Native American rights. She also said that the United States is the "greatest predator empire that has ever existed" and said it should be dismantled.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Gunn
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

James Gunn Bluntly Fires Back At 'Jerks' Who Criticize Superman's Pro-Immigrant Themes

Superman director James Gunn issued a response to the "jerks" who criticize the political themes inherent to the superhero's story, expressing his hope that seeing the movie will "make people a little nicer."

Speaking with The Times of London, Gunn stressed that the story of Superman is more relevant than ever considering the ongoing political turmoil in the United States largely centered around the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less

Things People Do In Relationships That Seem Sweet But Are Actually Toxic

Content Warning: Controlling and Toxic Relationship Behaviors

We've all either been involved in or witnessed a relationship where we saw something that we thought was cute or sweet at first, but we eventually found the behavior to be troubling or "too much."

Keep ReadingShow less
A piggy bank surrounded by loose change.
coin bank

'Poor Person Habits' People Won't Give Up No Matter How Rich They Get

When money is tight, we look for every possible way to avoid spending it.

As much as we might find ourselves missing out on some of the nicer things life has to offer, we find ourselves contented by the fact that we will always have enough money in our bank accounts to pay our bills on time.

Keep ReadingShow less