(New York, NY) — The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin this week canceled a book conversation with co-authors of Forget the Alamo, a book that re-examines a critical moment in Texas history. PEN America expressed concern and issued the following statement:
“Any museum shutting down a book talk is worrisome; for a government-affiliated museum where the governor sits on the board to do so should set off alarm bells for anyone who believes in free speech. If this was indeed an attempt to silence the speakers because they wrote a book that challenges the governor’s preferred historical narrative; it’s censorship, plain and simple. As a public institution, the Bullock Museum owes the people of Texas an immediate explanation for the decision to cancel the talk, and a guarantee that it remains committed to presenting a wide range of views and speakers—without subjecting them to an ideological litmus test.”