Alamo Trust CEO Kate Rogers has resigned following calls from state officials for accountability after revelations of controversial writings and management by Rogers.
This development is the latest in an ongoing dispute over the stewardship of the state’s most iconic historic site and recent concerns raised by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick regarding the Alamo Trust’s messaging and leadership.
Earlier this month, Texas Scorecard reported that Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham criticized the Alamo Trust after its official social media accounts posted a message recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day.
The now-deleted post sparked online backlash, with many Texans accusing the Trust of advancing a political narrative.
Buckingham denounced the post, launched an internal investigation, and demanded greater oversight, asserting that the Trust’s recent messaging was “misaligned with the culture of The Alamo” and not reflective of its “liberty or death” history.
Patrick’s letter to the board of Alamo Trust, sent Thursday, brought additional scrutiny.
Patrick said he was made aware of “troubling writings” by Rogers. He described these writings as “incompatible with the telling of the history of the battle of the Alamo” and stated it undermined the credibility of the Alamo Trust.
He advised Rogers to offer her resignation ahead of the board’s consideration of the matter.
The writings in question are from Rogers’ 167-page May 2023 dissertation to the University of Southern California, titled “The Role of U.S. Historic Sites and Museums in Supporting Social Studies Instruction in K-12 Classrooms.”
Excerpts reveal a pattern of rhetoric and ideology that many Texas leaders and citizens believe to be at odds with the spirit of the Alamo and Texas history.
Rogers criticized recent actions by state lawmakers to hold classroom instructors accountable, such as a statewide ban on Critical Race Theory.
Rogers further suggested that the Texas Revolution was motivated by a desire to preserve slavery, echoing controversial claims from the book “Forget the Alamo,” despite historical evidence to the contrary.
She rejected the idea that Texans, through their public servants, should hold educators accountable and set reasonable curriculum standards. Rather, she advocated for educator “autonomy”—a stance that critics say undermines public accountability and opens the door to fringe or politicized reinterpretations of Texas history.
“I do not believe it is the role of politicians to determine what professional educators can or should teach in the classroom,” wrote Rogers. “Instead, teachers should be afforded the autonomy to make those decisions based on their own expertise as well as the needs of their students.”
Her calls for the Alamo to become a “beacon for historical reconciliation” and her focus on “equity” and “inclusion” have been interpreted as a push to downplay the story of heroism, liberty, and sacrifice that the site has represented for generations of Texans.
Rogers joined the Alamo Trust in 2021. Prior to that, she had spent four years working for affiliated foundations of Texas grocery store chain H-E-B, and nearly 20 years working for H-E-B. From 2019-2021, Rogers served as vice president for community outreach and engagement for the Charles Butt Foundation.
H-E-B and Butt have been criticized in recent years for sponsoring LGBT events that include overt sexual content directed at children.
Patrick and Buckingham have urged the Alamo Trust board to realign its leadership and policies with the values and expectations of Texans, ensuring that the Alamo’s historical narrative is not supplanted by modern political agendas or woke ideology.
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