Weekly Newsletter May 12, 2025

Dear Democrats,

Our Nacogdoches High School library is under attack from the far-right, and the city library

could be close behind. Christin Bentley, from Smith County, is a member of the Texas

Republican Executive Committee, the chair of the GOP’s Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids

subcommittee, and the founder and president of the Texas Freedom Coalition. NISD had a

good policy for removing books from the library. A District employee or a parent or

guardian of a District student may request the reconsideration of library material. Then a

review, starting with informal discussions and then the appointment of a committee

including a teacher and student, conducts a review.

Bently, who is not the parent of an NHS student, and the NHS administration went around

this review requirement by removing access to books they do not like. Over 100 books

have been placed behind the library counter, some kind of parental approval is needed to

see them, and library hours for students have been limited. Not banned, just inaccessible.

The state legislature is proposing the banning of these books at city libraries, as well.

Resist this attack, come to our protest at the School Board at 6:00pm on Thursday, May

15. 
    

Upcoming events in the next few weeks

1. The Nacogdoches NAACP unit will hold their Executive Committee meeting on

Tuesday, May 13, at 5:30pm, in the Little Zion Baptist Church, 305 Shawnee Street. The

monthly General Membership meeting will start after this meeting, at 6:20pm. Contact the

NAACP Secretary, Lisa Colston, at (504) 905-8720, for more information.

2. We will have a protest at the Nacogdoches School Board meeting at 6:00pm on

Thursday, May 15, 420 South Shawnee Street. (Check on the time, however, as there is

confusing information from NISD.) We are concerned about:

o the Christian-based Bluebonnet Curriculum, which was adopted behind closed

doors, without parent or public input, and

o the removal of books from the Nacogdoches High School library.

3. The Nacogdoches Community Coalition will meet at 5:30pm on Monday, May 19, in the

Little Zion Baptist Church, 305 Shawnee Street.

4. The 21/7 Association will have their monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 20, at noon at

Cypress Ridge, 2701 Logan Circle when we will discuss the Community Change Awards.

Contact Nancy Niehaus for more information.

5. The Nacogdoches Democrats will hold a town hall meeting on Saturday, June 7, at

2:00pm in the Courthouse Annex at 203 West Main Street. State Representative Vikki

Goodwin will be there, we shall see if our Congressman Pete Sessions shows up. Stay

tuned for details.

6. The Blueberry Festival is on Saturday, June 14! Volunteer to staff the Nac Dems booth,

chat with passers-by, and have a great time!

7. After the Blueberry Festival we will join in a national “No Kings Day” mass protest at the

same time that Trump is having a military parade on his birthday. More information will

follow.

Nacogdoches City Council

The Nacogdoches City Council will hold their regular meeting at 5:30pm on Tuesday, May

20, in the City Hall, 202 East Pilar Street. See the City’s “Friday Update” for more

information about meeting and more on their Facebook site

https://www.facebook.com/CityofNacogdoches. Agendas for city meetings can be found at

https://www.nactx.us/agendas. Meetings are streamed at www.nactx.us/1198/Channel-21.

Commissions and Committees

The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, May 12, at 5:00pm in City

Hall to consider three zoning cases on West Seale Street and East Austin Street.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment will meet on Thursday, May 15, at 4:00pm.

Nacogdoches County Commissioners

The Nacogdoches County Commissioners Court will have a regular meeting on Tuesday,

May 13, at 9:00am in the Commissioners’ Courtroom, Suite 170 of the Nacogdoches

County Courthouse, 101 West Main Street. Included in the agenda is the authorization of

the sale of fireworks for the 2025 Diwali Holiday. Recordings of meetings are posted on the

county website.

NISD School Board meetings

The NISD School Board will have a regular meeting on Thursday, May 15, at 5:00pm in

the E.J. Campbell District Support Center Annex, 420 South Shawnee Street (although the

agenda has not yet been posted). They will also have special meetings at 1:00pm on May

12 (noon), 13 (5:00pm), 14 (5:00pm), and 15 (1:00pm). These appear to be a strictly

executive sessions. Go to their website for more information.

Nacogdoches County Hospital District

Nacogdoches County Hospital District Board of Directors routinely meets on the fourth

Tuesday of every month. This month, however, the Board will hold a Special Board

Meeting at 11:00am and a Retirement Committee at noon on Tuesday, May 13 in

Memorial Hospital’s Auxiliary Conference Center, 1204 North Mound Street. For

information about the Hospital District go to their website https://nachd.org.

Major holidays and events in Nacogdoches and elsewhere in the near future

23 May NHS graduation

26 May Memorial Day

7 June Nacogdoches Democrats town hall

12-13 June International Agriculture & Forestry Summit

14 June Blueberry Festival

14 June Flag Day

19 June Juneteenth

21 June Juneteenth celebration – parade and picnic

Keep resisting!

Mike Strong

Nac Dems