Kate Rogers announced her resignation as President and CEO of the Alamo Trust on Friday, revealing that she had stepped down the day before. Her decision followed a letter from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to the Alamo Trust’s Board of Directors, in which he suggested that Rogers either resign or be removed.
Patrick criticized Rogers over an academic paper she wrote that questioned the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature’s education policies. The paper also suggested a broader focus for the historic Alamo site in Texas.
“It was with mixed emotions that I resigned my post as President and CEO at the Alamo Trust yesterday,” Rogers said in a statement texted to The Associated Press. “It became evident through recent events that it was time for me to move on.”
Several trust officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Patrick had shared his letter to the board on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, describing Rogers’ paper as “shocking.” The paper, which she wrote in 2023 as part of her doctorate in global education from the University of Southern California, questioned current narratives about the Alamo and criticized state education policies.
“I believe her judgment is now placed in serious question,” Patrick wrote. “She has a totally different view of how the history of the Alamo should be told.”
This controversy is part of a broader, ongoing conflict over how American history is presented. Patrick’s call for Rogers’ removal echoes former President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure Smithsonian museums in Washington to minimize emphasis on slavery and other painful aspects of the nation’s past.
The Alamo, often called “the Shrine of Texas Liberty,” attracts more than 1.6 million visitors annually. The Alamo Trust operates the site under contract with the Texas General Land Office. The state is planning a $400 million renovation project, including a new museum and visitor center scheduled to open in 2027.
Lt. Gov. Patrick also serves as president of the Texas Senate.
In response to Patrick’s intervention, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, the county’s top elected official, condemned what he called Patrick’s “gross political interference.”
“We need to get politics out of our teaching of history. Period,” Sakai stated on Friday.
In her academic paper, Rogers highlighted the Texas Legislature’s “conservative agenda” in 2023, which included bills limiting what educators can teach about race and slavery in history courses.
“Philosophically, I do not believe it is the role of politicians to determine what professional educators can or should teach in the classroom,” she wrote.
Rogers also referenced the 2021 book *Forget the Alamo*, which challenges traditional narratives about the 13-day siege of the Alamo during Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico in 1836. The book argues that a central cause of the war was Anglo settlers’ desire to maintain slavery after Mexico had largely abolished it.
Texas eventually won the war and became an independent republic until its annexation by the United States in 1845.
Rogers noted that a city advisory council had expressed interest in telling the Alamo’s “full story,” including its history as a home to Indigenous peoples—an approach opposed by many Republican leaders in Texas.
She expressed hope that the Alamo could become “a place that brings people together versus tearing them apart,” but added, “politically that may not be possible at this time.”
Traditional narratives often downplay the role slavery may have played in Texas’ drive for independence and portray the Alamo’s defenders as heroes. In contrast, Patrick described the siege as “13 Days of Glory” in his letter to the trust’s board.
The Mexican Army attacked and ultimately overran the Texas defenders, but “Remember the Alamo” became a powerful rallying cry for Texas forces in subsequent battles.
“We must ensure that future generations never forget the sacrifice for freedom that was made,” Patrick wrote. “I will continue to defend the Alamo today against a rewrite of history.”
https://fortune.com/2025/10/25/texas-alamo-trust-nonprofit-ceo-resigns-kate-rogers-slavery-history-culture-wars/
