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They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms
•NATIONAL BESTSELLER
•A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR.
•2025 Winner of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism
The urgent, revelatory story of how a school board win for the conservative right in one Texas suburb inspired a Christian nationalist campaign now threatening to undermine public education in America.
Award-winning journalist Mike Hixenbaugh delivers the eye-opening story of Southlake, Texas, a well-funded district that seemed to offer everything parents would want for their children’s success. But after a series of racist incidents became public, a plan to promote inclusiveness was proposed in response — and a coordinated conservative backlash erupted, lighting the fire of a national movement to return Donald Trump to power and to change the face of public schools across the country.
They Came for the Schools pulls back the curtain on this crusade to ban books, rewrite curricula, limit rights for racial minority and LGBTQ students, and, most important, to win what Hixenbaugh’s deeply informed reporting convinces is the holy grail for the powerful forces seeking to impose biblical values on American society: school privatization, one school board and one legal battle at a time.
“Propulsive. . . . This razor-sharp book is the masterful culmination of years of reportage. . . . A work of compassion, one that never fails to center the vulnerability or the dignity of students.” —Washington Post
•A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR.
•2025 Winner of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism
The urgent, revelatory story of how a school board win for the conservative right in one Texas suburb inspired a Christian nationalist campaign now threatening to undermine public education in America.
Award-winning journalist Mike Hixenbaugh delivers the eye-opening story of Southlake, Texas, a well-funded district that seemed to offer everything parents would want for their children’s success. But after a series of racist incidents became public, a plan to promote inclusiveness was proposed in response — and a coordinated conservative backlash erupted, lighting the fire of a national movement to return Donald Trump to power and to change the face of public schools across the country.
They Came for the Schools pulls back the curtain on this crusade to ban books, rewrite curricula, limit rights for racial minority and LGBTQ students, and, most important, to win what Hixenbaugh’s deeply informed reporting convinces is the holy grail for the powerful forces seeking to impose biblical values on American society: school privatization, one school board and one legal battle at a time.
“Propulsive. . . . This razor-sharp book is the masterful culmination of years of reportage. . . . A work of compassion, one that never fails to center the vulnerability or the dignity of students.” —Washington Post
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2024
236 people are currently reading
11410 people want to read
About the author
Mike Hixenbaugh
1 book65 followersMike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, co-creator of the "Southlake" and "Grapevine" podcasts, and author of "They Came for the Schools: One Town’s Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America’s Classrooms."
Hixenbaugh’s reporting in recent years on the battles over race, gender, and sexuality in public schools won a Peabody Award and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. While working as a newspaper reporter in Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas, Hixenbaugh uncovered deadly failures in the U.S. military, abuses in the child welfare system, and safety lapses at major hospitals, winning numerous national awards and triggering reforms aimed at saving lives and keeping families together.
His first book, "They Came for the Schools" — winner of the prestigious Lukas Work-in-Progress Award — is set to be published by Mariner in May 2024.
Hixenbaugh lives in Maryland with his wife and four children.
Hixenbaugh’s reporting in recent years on the battles over race, gender, and sexuality in public schools won a Peabody Award and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. While working as a newspaper reporter in Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas, Hixenbaugh uncovered deadly failures in the U.S. military, abuses in the child welfare system, and safety lapses at major hospitals, winning numerous national awards and triggering reforms aimed at saving lives and keeping families together.
His first book, "They Came for the Schools" — winner of the prestigious Lukas Work-in-Progress Award — is set to be published by Mariner in May 2024.
Hixenbaugh lives in Maryland with his wife and four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 407 reviews
May 1, 2024
As a resident of the school district that this book is primarily about, I read the preview copy with great interest. Knowing some of the people involved and how things came about and spiraled out of control, I found the facts in this well-documented book to sadly be an accurate portrayal of issues within our school system. Having lived in the area for 3 decades, I know the information in the book and related podcasts is correct.
Overall, an eye-opening book about current politics and trigger issues in public schools all over the country, not just in Texas.
Overall, an eye-opening book about current politics and trigger issues in public schools all over the country, not just in Texas.
June 20, 2024
You know what’s sad? That I don’t have to provide any background on the issues this compulsively readable book addresses. The school board wars have been with us for several years now. (Actually, they’ve been with us ever since public education became a thing. For a quick overview, here’s an article by the estimable Jill Lepore. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...) As I write this, for example, the governor of Louisiana signed a law requiring every classroom to display the Ten Commandments. Elsewhere — everywhere, it seems — the ironically named Moms for Liberty has successfully had hundreds of books removed from school shelves.
The focus of “They Came for the Schools” is a particular affluent suburban school district in Texas. The schools in Southlake had a reputation for academic excellence, and its neighborhoods were welcoming. As the district became more diversified, however, tensions began to grow and fault lines appeared. They came to a head in 2018 when a video of white kids repeating the N-word went viral. School authorities responded quickly and appropriately. A committee was formed to to address diversity training for students and teachers, as well as hiring practices. The report that the committee generated, called the Cultural Competence Action Plan, was received positively at first, but by 2020, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, Southlake conservatives became active in opposing it. A local group — Southlake Families PAC — was created.
“They Came for the Schools” (the title evokes Martin Niemöller’s famous penitential quote that begins, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist”) is the story of how Southlake Families PAC mobilized, challenged school policies, and successfully derailed the diversity training effort. Their success gained them national attention, raised a lot of money, and — importantly — became the model for Christian Right activism around the country. Mike Hixenbaugh, an investigative reporter for NBC News, explains what happened in those years in Southlake and the influence it has had throughout the country. Along with looking at the ‘big picture,’ he looks at the events at the ground level, at the people it affected: teachers, students, parents, and school administrators. It isn’t a pretty picture. School board members who supported diversity training were threatened with violence or arrest. (One student, whose mother was supportive of diversity training, received handwritten letter saying, “If [your mother] doesn’t quit or resign before the end of the year, we will kill her, but first, we will kill you!”) Teachers lived in fear, unsure about what they could and couldn’t say, what books they could have in their classrooms. (Were they supposed to give opposing views on the Holocaust? one teacher seeking clarification asked a sympathetic administrator. Should the children be made to read books about the Holocaust from the Nazi perspective? Holocaust deniers? — “Believe me,” the administrator responded, that’s come up.”— What about books dealing with the horrors of slavery? Should books by White Supremacists be taught too?) Unsurprisingly, many left teaching entirely.
The accusations made by the PAC and its supporters are familiar. They claimed the diversity program was subversive, the creation of anti-Christian and unpatriotic forces actively trying to indoctrinate (and “groom,” of course) children, teach them Critical Race Theory. Protections for LGBTQ students, they said — or even addressing the topic in classrooms or in books available to students — punished “students who hold a biblical world view.” What was taking place, they said, was a dangerous liberal movement made up of people moving to Texas from Blue states who did not “understand the lesson that God told Lot when he was destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.”
The goal of the Christian Right movement in Texas was to completely redesign what was taught in the schools, and how it would be taught, and they knew they had the support of elected officials at the state level. The breadth of their ambition was astonishing: One bill introduced in 2023 required public schools to set aside time each day for students and teachers to pray and read their Bibles. Another mandated that the Ten Commandments—the King James version, specifically—be displayed in every public school classroom in the state. Yet another, which was swiftly approved by both legislative chambers, allowed public schools to replace mental health counselors and social workers with unlicensed Christian chaplains. They even argued that local Christian pastors rather than educators or librarians should decide which books were allowed on classroom shelves.
The Southlake Families PAC became the conduit through which candidates for the school board (and local elected office) had to pass. Their criteria were made clear in the questionnaire applicants were required to submit. Among the questions: • Do you support Black Lives Matter? • Have you ever participated in a BLM rally? • Do you support full-time, armed officers on the school campus? • Do you support the pro-life movement, from conception to natural death? • Are you willing to take a public stance in support of the Second Amendment? • Are you a Christian? • How active are you in your church?
The anti-diversity movement was particularly painful for LGBTQ students. One young woman became the target of abuse from several male students. When she told school authorities what had been said to her, she was told that the offending students weren’t really saying those things about her but about the Democratic Party. They were trying to have a debate, a dialogue.
The girl was shocked and infuriated: ““They were talking to me. It was all directed at me. They called me a cunt. They called me slurs. They called me all this stuff. They started slandering me because of the pronouns that I use. It was all at me. There was no debate.”
The school official was less than receptive: He [told] the boys they needed to be more “professional” and “respectful” when they debated politics in the future. And, he said, he gave the boys a warning—about how this kind of behavior, if ever made public, might harm their chances of getting into a good college.
It probably goes without saying that the situation was equally bad for students of color. Their experiences are covered in depth as well in “They Came for the Schools,” including those of Black athletes — members of the Dallas Cowboys — who moved to Southlake because of the reputation of its schools… and didn’t stay. Hixenbaugh shares his own story of his interracial family’s experiences in a Texas suburb.
The book manages a nice balance of local and national stories. The activities and words of local officials is juxtaposed by similar stories from elsewhere in the country, particularly Florida. Along with Governor DeSantis, we read of Pastor Rafael Cruz (father of Ted) who falsely claimed that that children were receiving gender reassignment surgeries “in our public schools,” and that “our children are being destroyed” by “an evil agenda” in public schools.
As Hixenbaugh reports, the efforts of the PAC and its adherents weren’t without resistance. Their single-minded focus on controlling school curricula and expanding state-funded private schools encountered an unexpected obstacle: “Rural, Trump-voting Republicans, it turns out, loved their public schools just as much as suburban Democrats.”
But of course, the effort is ongoing. As I noted, it’s not new. I believe the country would benefit from serious debate and discussion of what we want our schools to be and to do. The events reported in “They Came for the Schools” are neither debate nor serious. I wish I could say that this fine book would help spark a discussion but I'm less than optimistic.
My thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweis+ for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
The focus of “They Came for the Schools” is a particular affluent suburban school district in Texas. The schools in Southlake had a reputation for academic excellence, and its neighborhoods were welcoming. As the district became more diversified, however, tensions began to grow and fault lines appeared. They came to a head in 2018 when a video of white kids repeating the N-word went viral. School authorities responded quickly and appropriately. A committee was formed to to address diversity training for students and teachers, as well as hiring practices. The report that the committee generated, called the Cultural Competence Action Plan, was received positively at first, but by 2020, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, Southlake conservatives became active in opposing it. A local group — Southlake Families PAC — was created.
“They Came for the Schools” (the title evokes Martin Niemöller’s famous penitential quote that begins, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist”) is the story of how Southlake Families PAC mobilized, challenged school policies, and successfully derailed the diversity training effort. Their success gained them national attention, raised a lot of money, and — importantly — became the model for Christian Right activism around the country. Mike Hixenbaugh, an investigative reporter for NBC News, explains what happened in those years in Southlake and the influence it has had throughout the country. Along with looking at the ‘big picture,’ he looks at the events at the ground level, at the people it affected: teachers, students, parents, and school administrators. It isn’t a pretty picture. School board members who supported diversity training were threatened with violence or arrest. (One student, whose mother was supportive of diversity training, received handwritten letter saying, “If [your mother] doesn’t quit or resign before the end of the year, we will kill her, but first, we will kill you!”) Teachers lived in fear, unsure about what they could and couldn’t say, what books they could have in their classrooms. (Were they supposed to give opposing views on the Holocaust? one teacher seeking clarification asked a sympathetic administrator. Should the children be made to read books about the Holocaust from the Nazi perspective? Holocaust deniers? — “Believe me,” the administrator responded, that’s come up.”— What about books dealing with the horrors of slavery? Should books by White Supremacists be taught too?) Unsurprisingly, many left teaching entirely.
The accusations made by the PAC and its supporters are familiar. They claimed the diversity program was subversive, the creation of anti-Christian and unpatriotic forces actively trying to indoctrinate (and “groom,” of course) children, teach them Critical Race Theory. Protections for LGBTQ students, they said — or even addressing the topic in classrooms or in books available to students — punished “students who hold a biblical world view.” What was taking place, they said, was a dangerous liberal movement made up of people moving to Texas from Blue states who did not “understand the lesson that God told Lot when he was destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.”
The goal of the Christian Right movement in Texas was to completely redesign what was taught in the schools, and how it would be taught, and they knew they had the support of elected officials at the state level. The breadth of their ambition was astonishing: One bill introduced in 2023 required public schools to set aside time each day for students and teachers to pray and read their Bibles. Another mandated that the Ten Commandments—the King James version, specifically—be displayed in every public school classroom in the state. Yet another, which was swiftly approved by both legislative chambers, allowed public schools to replace mental health counselors and social workers with unlicensed Christian chaplains. They even argued that local Christian pastors rather than educators or librarians should decide which books were allowed on classroom shelves.
The Southlake Families PAC became the conduit through which candidates for the school board (and local elected office) had to pass. Their criteria were made clear in the questionnaire applicants were required to submit. Among the questions: • Do you support Black Lives Matter? • Have you ever participated in a BLM rally? • Do you support full-time, armed officers on the school campus? • Do you support the pro-life movement, from conception to natural death? • Are you willing to take a public stance in support of the Second Amendment? • Are you a Christian? • How active are you in your church?
The anti-diversity movement was particularly painful for LGBTQ students. One young woman became the target of abuse from several male students. When she told school authorities what had been said to her, she was told that the offending students weren’t really saying those things about her but about the Democratic Party. They were trying to have a debate, a dialogue.
The girl was shocked and infuriated: ““They were talking to me. It was all directed at me. They called me a cunt. They called me slurs. They called me all this stuff. They started slandering me because of the pronouns that I use. It was all at me. There was no debate.”
The school official was less than receptive: He [told] the boys they needed to be more “professional” and “respectful” when they debated politics in the future. And, he said, he gave the boys a warning—about how this kind of behavior, if ever made public, might harm their chances of getting into a good college.
It probably goes without saying that the situation was equally bad for students of color. Their experiences are covered in depth as well in “They Came for the Schools,” including those of Black athletes — members of the Dallas Cowboys — who moved to Southlake because of the reputation of its schools… and didn’t stay. Hixenbaugh shares his own story of his interracial family’s experiences in a Texas suburb.
The book manages a nice balance of local and national stories. The activities and words of local officials is juxtaposed by similar stories from elsewhere in the country, particularly Florida. Along with Governor DeSantis, we read of Pastor Rafael Cruz (father of Ted) who falsely claimed that that children were receiving gender reassignment surgeries “in our public schools,” and that “our children are being destroyed” by “an evil agenda” in public schools.
As Hixenbaugh reports, the efforts of the PAC and its adherents weren’t without resistance. Their single-minded focus on controlling school curricula and expanding state-funded private schools encountered an unexpected obstacle: “Rural, Trump-voting Republicans, it turns out, loved their public schools just as much as suburban Democrats.”
But of course, the effort is ongoing. As I noted, it’s not new. I believe the country would benefit from serious debate and discussion of what we want our schools to be and to do. The events reported in “They Came for the Schools” are neither debate nor serious. I wish I could say that this fine book would help spark a discussion but I'm less than optimistic.
My thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweis+ for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
March 13, 2024
Hixenbaugh is a reporter-- a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, co-creator of the "Southlake" and "Grapevine" podcasts to give you a little context.. I grabbed this. book up immediately and was so glad that I did!
This story takes place in Southlake, Texas, in a district that most would do anything to send their children. Like many highly sought after, wealthy enclaves, the parents are highly involved in the education of their children . Hixenbaugh provides an in-depth reporting of a story that we are all living in today - the politicizing of school curriculums, where private groups ignite the citizenship and school boards become a battl ground.
While reading reviews, I learned that the description are very much in turn with what transpired (and still is) in town. I loved that - it's so rare to hear that the descriptions in the book, especially one about controversy rings true. If you have been following book banning, school board wars and the general politicization of personal beliefs, this book is for you!
.#marinerbooks #theycamefortheschools #mikehienbaugh
This story takes place in Southlake, Texas, in a district that most would do anything to send their children. Like many highly sought after, wealthy enclaves, the parents are highly involved in the education of their children . Hixenbaugh provides an in-depth reporting of a story that we are all living in today - the politicizing of school curriculums, where private groups ignite the citizenship and school boards become a battl ground.
While reading reviews, I learned that the description are very much in turn with what transpired (and still is) in town. I loved that - it's so rare to hear that the descriptions in the book, especially one about controversy rings true. If you have been following book banning, school board wars and the general politicization of personal beliefs, this book is for you!
.#marinerbooks #theycamefortheschools #mikehienbaugh
May 3, 2024
I have not read the book, but the one star is based on its premise. I have two grandchildren in Southlake Schools and a third who graduated from Carroll Senior High School in Southlake. They are mixed race (Latino with Black ancestry) and have not encountered racism in the schools. My oldest grandson had moved from Eugene, Oregon, with its diversity and wokeness to Southlake. He wrote in his college application essay: " when moving to Texas I felt uprooted. The week I started at Carroll Senior High School, NBC released the podcast, “Southlake”, claiming rampant racism in my new school. As a minority I was concerned... ." But in place of racism, he found acceptance.
Racism and intolerance can be found nearly anywhere if you search hard enough in tiny corners. But by using a broad brush to paint Southlake as racist, Hixenbaugh is practicing his own brand of intolerance.
Racism and intolerance can be found nearly anywhere if you search hard enough in tiny corners. But by using a broad brush to paint Southlake as racist, Hixenbaugh is practicing his own brand of intolerance.
April 23, 2024
Disappointing. Hixenbaugh’s accounting of the step-by-step radicalization of conservative activists in a wealthy Texas suburb’s school board wars is valuable in its detail of disturbing illiberal and theocratic tendencies. But the framing is so fixed in advocacy that it ignores some basic journalism by never trying to get into the heads of the “anti-woke” Christian book-banners in order to explain what truly compels them.
January 6, 2024
I'd like to thank the publisher and Edelweiss for allowing me to read this book. I also like to thank the author and those he interviewed for giving their accounts and quotes to share.
This is a story of a school in Texas, a high school with the majority - at the time - of white kids who basically ended up making the social media rounds with a video of kids singing a song with the n-word. In turn, those being discriminated against (and other minorities) spoke out against the cruelty. This ended up causing a divide of those who wanted to reinvent and diversify the school against those who wanted to enforce harsh rules and resist change.
This also links into what is going on throughout the entire US, hundreds of schools and individuals involving themselves - for the wrong reasons - to take back learning and make it more secular and or 'clean'.
This is just the one story, the story that caused this history erasure / censure and why we hear so many people talking about what is happening in schools. You truly feel bad 100% for any one who is not white or straight. With the way things are going, this is gonna be a rough portion of history.
This is a story of a school in Texas, a high school with the majority - at the time - of white kids who basically ended up making the social media rounds with a video of kids singing a song with the n-word. In turn, those being discriminated against (and other minorities) spoke out against the cruelty. This ended up causing a divide of those who wanted to reinvent and diversify the school against those who wanted to enforce harsh rules and resist change.
This also links into what is going on throughout the entire US, hundreds of schools and individuals involving themselves - for the wrong reasons - to take back learning and make it more secular and or 'clean'.
This is just the one story, the story that caused this history erasure / censure and why we hear so many people talking about what is happening in schools. You truly feel bad 100% for any one who is not white or straight. With the way things are going, this is gonna be a rough portion of history.
December 3, 2025
A scary and well-researched look at the "Southlake Playbook", the methods Christian nationalists use in American schools to infiltrate and control public education through book banning, narrowed curriculum, and policy rollbacks. It was genuinely frightening to see how a school community could evolve from anti-racist action in 2019, to a full policy reversal targeting marginalized teachers and students.
Hixenbaugh outlines the playbook steps, most importantly, the creation of a PAC (Political Action Committee) funded by outside donors to spend money on winning local offices. If you are frightened by the incursion of regressive policies and religious influence in schools, this book helps you understand how it happened in Southlake. Required reading if you want to fight it in your town.
Hixenbaugh outlines the playbook steps, most importantly, the creation of a PAC (Political Action Committee) funded by outside donors to spend money on winning local offices. If you are frightened by the incursion of regressive policies and religious influence in schools, this book helps you understand how it happened in Southlake. Required reading if you want to fight it in your town.
April 19, 2024
As a retired educator, I knew a lot of this story but this very detailed account of what is going on in many school districts across the country scared the crap out of me. Just another sign of our times, and they wonder why there is a shortage of teachers in this country.
February 23, 2024
A great book to read discussing a story that is still continuing to be written. Since I started the book, I've also been engaged with the South Lake podcast series and just started the Grapevine Podcast to hear more about this national issue at a local scale. It's deeply disheartening to see schools and educators being treated as babysitting facilities rather than the places of education that they had been created for. I hope that we as a nation will be able to respect our educators in the future and provide them with the respect that they deserve.
August 16, 2024
So the book is read by the author.
It is quite scary.
For the sake of the whole world, I hope the Resistance movement, great and brave librarians, school and teaching staff, and rational parents and kids will unite and try work more closely to hopefully defeat these far-right, ultra-conservative, backward-looking forces and their ideology. I do not blame many of the people in that movement, because I know many are being manipulated by their media and people in power who supposedly should be trustable. Yeah, not sure that’s a real word haha.
Oh and I forgot to add, in the book, teacher Christina is very inspiring and a role model many people can learn from, especially since, by choice, she decided to go to Uganda and work in a school teaching children in poverty.
She is a true example of the love so many Christians claim to have, but she was one of the very few who tries to actually live that love and show the positive interpretation of Christianity and it’s call to serve and love to the world.
It is quite scary.
For the sake of the whole world, I hope the Resistance movement, great and brave librarians, school and teaching staff, and rational parents and kids will unite and try work more closely to hopefully defeat these far-right, ultra-conservative, backward-looking forces and their ideology. I do not blame many of the people in that movement, because I know many are being manipulated by their media and people in power who supposedly should be trustable. Yeah, not sure that’s a real word haha.
Oh and I forgot to add, in the book, teacher Christina is very inspiring and a role model many people can learn from, especially since, by choice, she decided to go to Uganda and work in a school teaching children in poverty.
She is a true example of the love so many Christians claim to have, but she was one of the very few who tries to actually live that love and show the positive interpretation of Christianity and it’s call to serve and love to the world.
May 22, 2024
Probably a biased review…
Mike did a wonderful job really giving the backstory & history of the fight for inclusion of all students in Southlake. The story really comes full circle with everything happening currently. His reporting was informative and factual.
Well done! 👏🏽
Mike did a wonderful job really giving the backstory & history of the fight for inclusion of all students in Southlake. The story really comes full circle with everything happening currently. His reporting was informative and factual.
Well done! 👏🏽
July 26, 2024
Wow! With a perfect blend of topical relevance and sharp journalistic writing, THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS will be, I predict, more un-put-downable than most best-selling thrillers, and more rage-inducing than the New York Times’ events coverage. Mike Hixenbaugh chronicles the rise of evangelical Christian nationalism in the wealthy suburban town of South Lake, Texas, as an increasingly politicized school board strive to force teachings about diversity, race, and LGBTQ+ perspectives out of its curriculum in the name of godliness.
Hixenbaugh has GREAT writerly instincts, and basically lets the horror of the “characters” reveal themselves. He succinctly summarizes the ascendency of South Lake as the shining example of public school excellence through the latter half of the twentieth century by, let’s face it, voting against initiatives like affordable housing in order to keep the population white and wealthy. Nevertheless, diversity crept in, and exploded in a perfect storm in 2018, when videos of South Lake high school students gleefully shouting racial slurs made their way online.
Appalled adults put together a committee to make recommendations for how to implement better diversity awareness and training in their schools, and all seemed to be going well… until 2020 saw the politicization of diversity initiatives as, somehow, being “anti-white” and anti-Christian. Sigh.
Hixenbaugh assembles hundreds of quotes from students, parents, and public figures on both sides of the political divide on the storm in South Lake and beyond. He hardly needs to embellish in his reporting, because direct quotes taken from video recordings and town hall meetings give us appalling incidents such as:
- A school principal telling a transgender student that the boys who sent her transphobic insults on social media were only trying to start a political discussion with her
- A white student telling a black student and their principal that he doesn’t see why he shouldn’t be allowed to say the N-word, because it’s “just a word” to him, and that if black people were allowed to say the word but not white people, then that's the REAL racism
- White parents claiming that the school, by claiming that diversity training was necessary, was teaching their child to “hate herself for her skin color, because she couldn’t help what she was born as, and it’s harmful to tell students that those who are white are bad, and those who are black are victims, because that’s not the US is about”
- Teachers undergoing training on how to “present multiple perspectives” on issues such as the Holocaust and slavery
Yes, FOR REAL. I know. I was literally shouting at the air while listening to the audiobook (which is expertly narrated by Hixenbaugh himself) because I was so furious.
Anyway, I’m still shaking from the reading/listening experience, but really, read this book. It is for sure one of the best book-length journalism pieces I’ve ever read, and a necessary reminder of what we have to continue to fight against.
Hixenbaugh has GREAT writerly instincts, and basically lets the horror of the “characters” reveal themselves. He succinctly summarizes the ascendency of South Lake as the shining example of public school excellence through the latter half of the twentieth century by, let’s face it, voting against initiatives like affordable housing in order to keep the population white and wealthy. Nevertheless, diversity crept in, and exploded in a perfect storm in 2018, when videos of South Lake high school students gleefully shouting racial slurs made their way online.
Appalled adults put together a committee to make recommendations for how to implement better diversity awareness and training in their schools, and all seemed to be going well… until 2020 saw the politicization of diversity initiatives as, somehow, being “anti-white” and anti-Christian. Sigh.
Hixenbaugh assembles hundreds of quotes from students, parents, and public figures on both sides of the political divide on the storm in South Lake and beyond. He hardly needs to embellish in his reporting, because direct quotes taken from video recordings and town hall meetings give us appalling incidents such as:
- A school principal telling a transgender student that the boys who sent her transphobic insults on social media were only trying to start a political discussion with her
- A white student telling a black student and their principal that he doesn’t see why he shouldn’t be allowed to say the N-word, because it’s “just a word” to him, and that if black people were allowed to say the word but not white people, then that's the REAL racism
- White parents claiming that the school, by claiming that diversity training was necessary, was teaching their child to “hate herself for her skin color, because she couldn’t help what she was born as, and it’s harmful to tell students that those who are white are bad, and those who are black are victims, because that’s not the US is about”
- Teachers undergoing training on how to “present multiple perspectives” on issues such as the Holocaust and slavery
Yes, FOR REAL. I know. I was literally shouting at the air while listening to the audiobook (which is expertly narrated by Hixenbaugh himself) because I was so furious.
Anyway, I’m still shaking from the reading/listening experience, but really, read this book. It is for sure one of the best book-length journalism pieces I’ve ever read, and a necessary reminder of what we have to continue to fight against.
June 17, 2024
I may have read this differently because I taught at Carroll Sr High for 14 years during many of the incidents in the book. The writing was so good it was cringe-worthy.
July 21, 2025
Well, this book was *fine*, meaning that it’s well reported and cleanly organized. I have various thoughts, so I’ll try to share them in a few main sections.
Why I wanted to read this book
It’s kind of meta to read a book about the banning of books and school board wars, as these issues are impacting children as we speak. Here in North Carolina, many of the queer educators I know are grappling with how to support their students in light of ever-growing restrictions. At the same time, I don’t always know how to feel about the particular brand of white liberal hysteria ascribed to the round of book banning and school board wars that picked up around 2021 (more on that later.)
I also think this particular attack on historical and queer-affirming literature is tied to larger issues in our society around political awareness, media literacy, and general consciousness about the world events occurring around us. When I think back to the books of my childhood, some of which were recently lauded on Twitter, we used to have real historical narratives that helped us understand the ways power shaped our world. I also know that restricted access to these sorts of histories can lead to dark places. Every single day, I see how Cold War-era educational crackdowns stunted Gen X’s political imagination. Hixenbaugh even slightly references these earlier school board wars, in a section that compares the 70s-80s panic over secular humanism to the current critical race theory panic. It is discouraging to think that in 2024, there is indeed nothing new under the sun, and Gen Alpha may fall victim to the same troubles.
The liberals/progressives are delusional, too...
So, all that was why I checked out this book from Libby! Unfortunately, despite the important nature of the topic, there is a glaring chasm in Hixenbaugh’s analysis of this story. His blind spots reminded me of my issues with The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. Many times, it feels like privileged people get super upset about a political threat’s looming impact on them, even though said political threat has been terrorizing oppressed people for decades. It’s not that these people are wrong, but moreso that they sensationalize these issues with the aggravating zeal usually characteristic of religious converts. In this case, I’m sure Hixenbaugh’s portrayal of the innocent Southlake parents who are just *so dismayed* by their town’s downward spiral into conservative extremism was deeply aggravating for anyone involved in public education issues. From what we can tell, it seems these nice, DEI-oriented Southlake parents were nowhere to be found in organizing for pre-2021 issues like teacher pay, or wealth-based disparities in educational outcomes across North Texas—in fact, they sought out these disparities, until it came back to bite them.
This results in a book where the “protagonist” parents are just as delusional as the antagonists, and only a smidge more likeable. We are literally asked to believe that the biracial daughter of a Black cop and her white liberal husband are freedom fighters because they placed a Black Lives Matter sign in their yard. Yet again, I am asking these authors to BFFR!!
To be fair, while I didn’t get his approach to the parents, I understand why Hixenbaugh handled the Southlake students’ beliefs with kid gloves. For Black children growing up in these contexts, it’s hard to not try to equate “your people’s oppression” to whatever classed microaggressions you can reach for. As someone with a similar class background to most Southlake students, I’ve definitely been there! However, as we grow up, many of us become fortunate to learn from people outside of our childhood bubbles, who help teach us that the world is much wider, and the issues run much deeper, than we initially thought. Unfortunately, it seems this lesson never fully reached Hixenbaugh’s doorstep. So, here we are in 2024, reading a book where this man is comparing “progressive” school board protestors to antiwar activists (a literal quote near the book’s end that made me want to tear my hair out!)
The hypocrisy of POC parents in Southlake and other exclusionary suburbs
Just to complain a bit more about Hixenbaugh missing the big points/glaring ironies in this book, I kept waiting for any acknowledgment of the anti-Blackness, xenophobia, and classism that is shared by *all* residents of Southlake, including the Black and/or liberal ones. That is just such an essential part of the story that is missing here. Like I get why parents make the decision, but it feels so tone deaf to let the “progressive” parents whine on and on about Southlake’s racism as if they didn’t know exactly what they were getting into when they moved there!! Hixenbaugh interrogates the underlying inconsistencies in the white conservative parents’ statements, but seems to lose that rigor when dealing with all the other parents.
They Came for the Schools’ subject matter created so many great opportunities to talk about the irreconcilable nature of “elite public education” and the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” that these parents who willingly bought into a wealthy enclave claim to want. Unfortunately, Hixenbaugh seems to ignore this impossibility, instead preferring to cast sympathetic portrayals of what are surely some of the richest parents of color in North Texas.
Final Thoughts
If you are really obsessed with this topic, then sure, give this book a try! Otherwise, I think there are stronger options out there about suburban education, and likely even the topic of book banning.
I would give a glowing recommendation for Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs by Benjamin Herold. This book is keenly focused on the ways that parents’ religious, racial, and class identities influence their interactions with suburban education systems. Herold employs a deep curiosity about his characters’ hidden biases and motivations, and doesn’t let some characters off the hook simply because they are Democrats. This might be the geography and genealogy nerd in me, but I also think Disillusioned’s focus on municipal and generational dynamics makes all the difference here. Readers get the full picture of the unsustainable nature of suburban development schemes, which helps explain why even the “shining jewel” school systems will inevitably face challenges with meeting all of the needs parents expect from them. Similarly, Herold’s in-depth exploration of the parents’ upbringings really helps to ground readers in their senses of identity, which helps us understand their quests for upward mobility. But, that’s enough of me talking about another book in a review for a lesser book!
I will close by saying that Mike Hixenbaugh’s book isn’t without merits, and the story is mostly told in an interesting way. Just be prepared to roll your eyes at the self-righteous “progressive” parents who are “fighting the good fight” for a diversity plan in their—checks notes—incredibly segregated suburb. If you are interested in something that is a bit more analytically rewarding, I will recommend Disillusioned instead!
Why I wanted to read this book
It’s kind of meta to read a book about the banning of books and school board wars, as these issues are impacting children as we speak. Here in North Carolina, many of the queer educators I know are grappling with how to support their students in light of ever-growing restrictions. At the same time, I don’t always know how to feel about the particular brand of white liberal hysteria ascribed to the round of book banning and school board wars that picked up around 2021 (more on that later.)
I also think this particular attack on historical and queer-affirming literature is tied to larger issues in our society around political awareness, media literacy, and general consciousness about the world events occurring around us. When I think back to the books of my childhood, some of which were recently lauded on Twitter, we used to have real historical narratives that helped us understand the ways power shaped our world. I also know that restricted access to these sorts of histories can lead to dark places. Every single day, I see how Cold War-era educational crackdowns stunted Gen X’s political imagination. Hixenbaugh even slightly references these earlier school board wars, in a section that compares the 70s-80s panic over secular humanism to the current critical race theory panic. It is discouraging to think that in 2024, there is indeed nothing new under the sun, and Gen Alpha may fall victim to the same troubles.
The liberals/progressives are delusional, too...
So, all that was why I checked out this book from Libby! Unfortunately, despite the important nature of the topic, there is a glaring chasm in Hixenbaugh’s analysis of this story. His blind spots reminded me of my issues with The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. Many times, it feels like privileged people get super upset about a political threat’s looming impact on them, even though said political threat has been terrorizing oppressed people for decades. It’s not that these people are wrong, but moreso that they sensationalize these issues with the aggravating zeal usually characteristic of religious converts. In this case, I’m sure Hixenbaugh’s portrayal of the innocent Southlake parents who are just *so dismayed* by their town’s downward spiral into conservative extremism was deeply aggravating for anyone involved in public education issues. From what we can tell, it seems these nice, DEI-oriented Southlake parents were nowhere to be found in organizing for pre-2021 issues like teacher pay, or wealth-based disparities in educational outcomes across North Texas—in fact, they sought out these disparities, until it came back to bite them.
This results in a book where the “protagonist” parents are just as delusional as the antagonists, and only a smidge more likeable. We are literally asked to believe that the biracial daughter of a Black cop and her white liberal husband are freedom fighters because they placed a Black Lives Matter sign in their yard. Yet again, I am asking these authors to BFFR!!
To be fair, while I didn’t get his approach to the parents, I understand why Hixenbaugh handled the Southlake students’ beliefs with kid gloves. For Black children growing up in these contexts, it’s hard to not try to equate “your people’s oppression” to whatever classed microaggressions you can reach for. As someone with a similar class background to most Southlake students, I’ve definitely been there! However, as we grow up, many of us become fortunate to learn from people outside of our childhood bubbles, who help teach us that the world is much wider, and the issues run much deeper, than we initially thought. Unfortunately, it seems this lesson never fully reached Hixenbaugh’s doorstep. So, here we are in 2024, reading a book where this man is comparing “progressive” school board protestors to antiwar activists (a literal quote near the book’s end that made me want to tear my hair out!)
The hypocrisy of POC parents in Southlake and other exclusionary suburbs
Just to complain a bit more about Hixenbaugh missing the big points/glaring ironies in this book, I kept waiting for any acknowledgment of the anti-Blackness, xenophobia, and classism that is shared by *all* residents of Southlake, including the Black and/or liberal ones. That is just such an essential part of the story that is missing here. Like I get why parents make the decision, but it feels so tone deaf to let the “progressive” parents whine on and on about Southlake’s racism as if they didn’t know exactly what they were getting into when they moved there!! Hixenbaugh interrogates the underlying inconsistencies in the white conservative parents’ statements, but seems to lose that rigor when dealing with all the other parents.
They Came for the Schools’ subject matter created so many great opportunities to talk about the irreconcilable nature of “elite public education” and the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” that these parents who willingly bought into a wealthy enclave claim to want. Unfortunately, Hixenbaugh seems to ignore this impossibility, instead preferring to cast sympathetic portrayals of what are surely some of the richest parents of color in North Texas.
Final Thoughts
If you are really obsessed with this topic, then sure, give this book a try! Otherwise, I think there are stronger options out there about suburban education, and likely even the topic of book banning.
I would give a glowing recommendation for Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs by Benjamin Herold. This book is keenly focused on the ways that parents’ religious, racial, and class identities influence their interactions with suburban education systems. Herold employs a deep curiosity about his characters’ hidden biases and motivations, and doesn’t let some characters off the hook simply because they are Democrats. This might be the geography and genealogy nerd in me, but I also think Disillusioned’s focus on municipal and generational dynamics makes all the difference here. Readers get the full picture of the unsustainable nature of suburban development schemes, which helps explain why even the “shining jewel” school systems will inevitably face challenges with meeting all of the needs parents expect from them. Similarly, Herold’s in-depth exploration of the parents’ upbringings really helps to ground readers in their senses of identity, which helps us understand their quests for upward mobility. But, that’s enough of me talking about another book in a review for a lesser book!
I will close by saying that Mike Hixenbaugh’s book isn’t without merits, and the story is mostly told in an interesting way. Just be prepared to roll your eyes at the self-righteous “progressive” parents who are “fighting the good fight” for a diversity plan in their—checks notes—incredibly segregated suburb. If you are interested in something that is a bit more analytically rewarding, I will recommend Disillusioned instead!
March 26, 2025
Using the specific example of Southlake schools’ turn against diversity & inclusion education after a slew of racist student behavior, the author highlights America’s emerging Christian nationalist target of school boards as they try to remove any mentions of race, gender, and sexuality in schools. This book made me angry and nervous to be a teacher because of the crazy amount of censoring and precautions that teachers have to take as racist & anti-LGBTQ parents & politicians get over-involved in public schools.
May 5, 2024
This book is fabulous! Written with a clear and concise style showing how the planned take over by the Christian Right has started many years ago. And it has just become more emboldened since the 2016 election. This covers the start and current take over plans by the Christian Right to turn every school into what they believe should they should be. I found it amazing how the side that decries that schools are "..indoctrinating our children." are the very ones actually doing that.
The fight started in Texas in a town called South Lake. The author is an investigative journalist for the New York Times and has been fact checked. He does not take sides in this but does ask some very pointed questions. We were given freedoms in this country in the Constitution but why are those freedoms denied to teachers, school kids, college kids? Why is only one religion supposed to be allowed discussion in school? Why are some school board systematically being taken over by Far Right PAC's that insist that history be rewritten and that both sides must be shown equally and the good of both sides taught.
So what was the good side of Slavery or the Holocaust? Some teachers have taken all books out of their classrooms because even The Cat in the Hat has been found a problem by the new restrictions. And forget ever bringing the Lorax into your classroom or school library! They cannot assign outside reading even for AP classes in some high schools in Texas and Florida because of the vagueness of the new rules making it almost impossible for them to know what won't get them attacked on social media, penalized by the school board, fired, or even arrested, or all of the above in some districts!
The fact that this is happening is insane. And if you think this will not have any effect in your schools in your state, do not believe that for a second. These PAC's have been very open pushing for the fight for the school to be revised to conservatism has been their publicly stated plan from the beginning. Since Texas is the state that has the biggest market for school and college text books, they get the most say in what they will allow into said books. They can block anything they want at the yearly reviews the publishers have, usually held in Texas, and most states do not even send representatives to these reviews.
The author clearly spells out how the take over of our schools and the push to no longer teach about different ethnicities getting along with one another, including anyone who is different from ourselves, or forget acknowledging any other religion (even Christian) that differs from them. Bullying? Forget there being any consequences to that too. Especially if it is a Christian white male because Boys will be Boys so you should just ignore that they called you a N***r.
I grew up in a racially mixed neighborhood. I when to high school in a racially mixed school where I, a white person, was the minority. I had been taught to stand up for equality and treating your neighbor as you would yourself. That the greatest commandment that the Lord gave us was "That you love one another" and that only God is to judge. We are not to throw stones. Seeing how far away from Jesus the Christian Fundamentalist Right is and how they want to dismantle all the progress we have made since the 1950's made me want to cry at points in this book. Mostly it made me angry. Who are they to dumb down the schools for all the kids. If you want that much control of your kids education then send them to a private school or homeschool them. Do not be so arrogant as to destroy all the public schools by being so one sided.
This books should be read by every concerned adult and every teacher and principal. We are losing teachers in droves now. It was hard enough for them under the rules of No Child Left Behind but the taking over of school boards like this has them actively fleeing the profession. Especially in Texas and Florida.
The fight started in Texas in a town called South Lake. The author is an investigative journalist for the New York Times and has been fact checked. He does not take sides in this but does ask some very pointed questions. We were given freedoms in this country in the Constitution but why are those freedoms denied to teachers, school kids, college kids? Why is only one religion supposed to be allowed discussion in school? Why are some school board systematically being taken over by Far Right PAC's that insist that history be rewritten and that both sides must be shown equally and the good of both sides taught.
So what was the good side of Slavery or the Holocaust? Some teachers have taken all books out of their classrooms because even The Cat in the Hat has been found a problem by the new restrictions. And forget ever bringing the Lorax into your classroom or school library! They cannot assign outside reading even for AP classes in some high schools in Texas and Florida because of the vagueness of the new rules making it almost impossible for them to know what won't get them attacked on social media, penalized by the school board, fired, or even arrested, or all of the above in some districts!
The fact that this is happening is insane. And if you think this will not have any effect in your schools in your state, do not believe that for a second. These PAC's have been very open pushing for the fight for the school to be revised to conservatism has been their publicly stated plan from the beginning. Since Texas is the state that has the biggest market for school and college text books, they get the most say in what they will allow into said books. They can block anything they want at the yearly reviews the publishers have, usually held in Texas, and most states do not even send representatives to these reviews.
The author clearly spells out how the take over of our schools and the push to no longer teach about different ethnicities getting along with one another, including anyone who is different from ourselves, or forget acknowledging any other religion (even Christian) that differs from them. Bullying? Forget there being any consequences to that too. Especially if it is a Christian white male because Boys will be Boys so you should just ignore that they called you a N***r.
I grew up in a racially mixed neighborhood. I when to high school in a racially mixed school where I, a white person, was the minority. I had been taught to stand up for equality and treating your neighbor as you would yourself. That the greatest commandment that the Lord gave us was "That you love one another" and that only God is to judge. We are not to throw stones. Seeing how far away from Jesus the Christian Fundamentalist Right is and how they want to dismantle all the progress we have made since the 1950's made me want to cry at points in this book. Mostly it made me angry. Who are they to dumb down the schools for all the kids. If you want that much control of your kids education then send them to a private school or homeschool them. Do not be so arrogant as to destroy all the public schools by being so one sided.
This books should be read by every concerned adult and every teacher and principal. We are losing teachers in droves now. It was hard enough for them under the rules of No Child Left Behind but the taking over of school boards like this has them actively fleeing the profession. Especially in Texas and Florida.
June 4, 2024
Expanding on and connecting his and Antonia Hylton’s podcasts, Southlake and Grapevine, Mike Hixenbaugh writes about the concerted effort of far right extremists to take over politics, starting with securing seats on local school boards. Hixenbaugh explores the effect that local politics has on federal politics and vice versa by documenting the organized attacks on DEI programs in schools and then books. Hixenbaugh shares the experiences of teachers, students, parents, and local politicians and outlined the ways in which this far right effort connects to evangelical Christianity.
I would highly recommend this book, along with the two aforementioned podcasts, although listening to the two podcasts does make some of the information in the book a repeat. However, it was still nice to see how Hixenbaugh tied the two separate but related stories together. Ultimately, though, if you don’t know this story and you want to know what teaching in the modern era has been like (in my case very literally), I would encourage you to read this. My community has very genuinely experienced (and still does) these things throughout the last few years. Please listen, be angry, and get involved as an advocate for public education, which is exactly what the group attacking it hopes you won’t do.
I would highly recommend this book, along with the two aforementioned podcasts, although listening to the two podcasts does make some of the information in the book a repeat. However, it was still nice to see how Hixenbaugh tied the two separate but related stories together. Ultimately, though, if you don’t know this story and you want to know what teaching in the modern era has been like (in my case very literally), I would encourage you to read this. My community has very genuinely experienced (and still does) these things throughout the last few years. Please listen, be angry, and get involved as an advocate for public education, which is exactly what the group attacking it hopes you won’t do.
July 24, 2024
As someone who attended school in a community near Southlake, a district mentioned in this book, this book was incredibly validating for me, and accurate to my experiences and observations as a student. My parents too came from out of state and moved to the community for the school and what they offered their students. I did receive a good education, and was provided with opportunities I may not have gotten had we not moved here, but I also saw significant amounts of racism, antisemitism, and homophobia, eventually leading to the death of a friend.
Id seen the n word video, but since graduating I’d largely removed myself from this community and did not know just how much had happened in Southlake and the communities that neighbor it since I left. It was horrifying but I also can’t say it was at all surprising.
Thank you for writing this book
Id seen the n word video, but since graduating I’d largely removed myself from this community and did not know just how much had happened in Southlake and the communities that neighbor it since I left. It was horrifying but I also can’t say it was at all surprising.
Thank you for writing this book
May 15, 2024
Review to come. 5 stars, no question. This was such a much needed book for the moment, examining not only the multitude of stories coming from Southlake, TX but also the reflection of similar battles playing out on a nationwide scale. I definitely also appreciated hearing about the rise of book bans coinciding with a quite scary momentum in these schools to prevent teaching about racism, issues involving sexuality and identity, among other topics. This book was often a difficult and infuriating read just from reading about the rampant bigotry and bullying several of the students and families faced in Southlake, but I'm glad I read it.
February 27, 2024
excellent story telling— such an important read
May 14, 2024
Five-Stars for many reasons but also because there seems to be some Southlake residents bombarding the reviews even though they've never read it...? I think you're proving minor points in this book...but okay. & you call us sheep? Anyway..
This was probably one of the most stressful and aggravating books I have ever read. As a white cisgender female I recognize how incredibly privileged I am in many many ways (& you should too).
I have so much empathy and respect for those falling into any minority group that have to experience similar situations portrayed in Mike Hixenbaugh's book solely based on a foundation of something that cannot be described as anything but hate and discrimination on a day-to-day basis. Even more so for having to interact with those put in leadership positions that cannot even begin to register or understand the negative impact their tunnel vision decisions are having. Their entire argument can be turned around and made against themselves because it has no merit or grounding.
This is such an important read and I feel so strongly about these issues, especially being married to a Male Elementary school educator. I would recommend this to anyone but unfortunately, I know a few people who SHOULD read it but won't because they themselves can't seem to see the "opposing view" they preach.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the Advanced Readers Copy.
This was probably one of the most stressful and aggravating books I have ever read. As a white cisgender female I recognize how incredibly privileged I am in many many ways (& you should too).
I have so much empathy and respect for those falling into any minority group that have to experience similar situations portrayed in Mike Hixenbaugh's book solely based on a foundation of something that cannot be described as anything but hate and discrimination on a day-to-day basis. Even more so for having to interact with those put in leadership positions that cannot even begin to register or understand the negative impact their tunnel vision decisions are having. Their entire argument can be turned around and made against themselves because it has no merit or grounding.
This is such an important read and I feel so strongly about these issues, especially being married to a Male Elementary school educator. I would recommend this to anyone but unfortunately, I know a few people who SHOULD read it but won't because they themselves can't seem to see the "opposing view" they preach.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the Advanced Readers Copy.
March 12, 2025
This one had my blood boiling at times, but it was incredibly informative about how the US got to where we are when it comes to dismantling our education system.
Read
June 2, 2025Local. elections. matter.
Read
April 14, 2025Everyone who is interested in public education should read this book. It describes the very serious, very well-funded movement working to decimate public education. Whether it is through stacking school boards with anti-DEI zealots or supporting vouchers for private schools and homeschoolers, there are people who do not want public schools to exist. The author tries to sprinkle in some hope but right now I think the situation might be getting worse.
October 27, 2024
I don't know how I wasn't paying attention to this story when I lived in Texas and worked in an urban school district, but I was unaware of this series of events. It's awful, but important.
June 23, 2024
Fascinating. Absolutely infuriating. Unputdownable.
I don't get political about much on social media (as much as I want to sometimes), but I will unreservedly scream from the rooftops about book banning and the attempt to criminally charge teachers and librarians who are just trying to do their jobs (for which they are underpaid and overworked). I'm starting to get reeeeal close to also screaming from the rooftops about ones side's attempt to defund public education and re-route the money to private schools so that they can have absolute control over what is being taught. We need to protect public education. Vote in your local elections, people. They're just as important as the big ones--maybe even more.
I don't get political about much on social media (as much as I want to sometimes), but I will unreservedly scream from the rooftops about book banning and the attempt to criminally charge teachers and librarians who are just trying to do their jobs (for which they are underpaid and overworked). I'm starting to get reeeeal close to also screaming from the rooftops about ones side's attempt to defund public education and re-route the money to private schools so that they can have absolute control over what is being taught. We need to protect public education. Vote in your local elections, people. They're just as important as the big ones--maybe even more.
September 22, 2024
3.5 stars
I found the first third of this book difficult to read and a little repetitive. There were more stories than I needed of people using the N word and making lynching “jokes.” It felt like I was just going to be reading a book about how racist and awful students and parents were.
I did learn a bit more once they got into the granular details of school boards, etc but the entire book felt more like a straight reporting of the news. Maybe I’m overly dialed in to this stuff, but I felt like I already knew a lot of the broad facts. I was hoping for more analysis/commentary—how did we get here? How do we get out?
I found the first third of this book difficult to read and a little repetitive. There were more stories than I needed of people using the N word and making lynching “jokes.” It felt like I was just going to be reading a book about how racist and awful students and parents were.
I did learn a bit more once they got into the granular details of school boards, etc but the entire book felt more like a straight reporting of the news. Maybe I’m overly dialed in to this stuff, but I felt like I already knew a lot of the broad facts. I was hoping for more analysis/commentary—how did we get here? How do we get out?
July 22, 2025
This was such a painful book to read, and not because it isn't well written (it is very well written). It's painful because of what it reveals about our society. My favorite time to read is right before bed, but I found that I couldn't read this one at that time because I couldn't get to sleep. Reading it made me feel a bit sick, actually. But I'm so glad I read it. Hixebaugh does a masterful job of showing how the right wing culture wars rip a community apart and devastate teachers, parents, and most especially students. My heart breaks for the students who just wanted the adults in their school and their community to protect them and were utterly failed because the adults are afraid to take a good look in the mirror and see reality.
December 5, 2024
Read this for a book club at work. As a book, this is a really good work of journalism, though the stories itself are so heartbreaking. It is so sad and scary to think of how Christianity is infiltrating and guiding our public schools (and don't even get me started on school vouchers). An insane book, but worth the read for educators and anyone interested in making public schools a place for all students.
February 11, 2025
I saw the book recommended on a teacher page and then it was also in my course work. It’s upsetting but important to know.
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