The City of Austin made a mockery of itself last week after a report by city bureaucrats recommended the city rename itself as part of a liberal campaign to purge the city of confederate symbols. But one nationwide publication went even further in demonstrating the historical illiteracy of PC zealots.

“The city of Austin, Texas has suggested in a preliminary report, that highlighted historical connections to a former Confederate leader, Stephen F. Austin, otherwise known as the “Father of Texas”, that it might consider changing its name,” blares Newsweek’s culture reporter Janice Williams.

The problem?

Known as the “Father of Texas” for his role in spearheading the settlement and political development of Texas, Stephen F. Austin was not a Confederate leader. He wasn’t even a Confederate soldier. He was, in fact, dead twenty-five years before a shot was fired at Fort Sumter.

Even the city’s Equity Office bureaucrats conceded the name “Austin” was “not explicitly Confederate and/or Civil War related.”

The falsehoods don’t end there. The Newsweek article also falsely credits Austin with founding the eponymous city.

“Austin, who founded the city in 1839, was notable for his staunch disapproval of an effort to ban slavery in the Tejas province following the Texas Revolution,” writes Williams.

Also entirely untrue.

The only Texas town Stephen F. Austin founded was San Felipe de Austin—a small town near current-day Sealy. In contrast, the City of Austin began its life as Waterloo around 1836 and was renamed in honor of Austin by President Mirabeau B. Lamar after naming it the Republic of Texas’ capital city in 1839.

And as mentioned previously, Stephen F. Austin died in December 1836, a mere nine months after Texas had won independence from Mexico.

These facts aren’t hard to find.

Every Texan had them and countless others packed into their head in history class. And for those with the misfortune of growing up somewhere in a place called “Not Texas,” a simple Google search would have sufficed.

Hopefully this article—and the City of Austin’s political correctness jihad—not only further illustrates how out of touch the fake news media is with the truth, but also spurs a more rigorous and robust effort on the part of citizens to defend American and Texan heritage in the public square.

Cary Cheshire

Cary Cheshire is the executive director of Texans for Strong Borders, a no-compromise non-profit dedicated to restoring security and sovereignty to the citizens of the Lone Star State. For more information visit StrongBorders.org.

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