Tuesday night’s panel discussion on the Kanawha County Textbook Controversy of 35 years ago sponsored by the Kanawha Valley Historical Preservation Society was a rare opportunity to bring together many of the key players from one of the great and terrible episodes in the state’s history.
The hair is grayer, the waistlines a little bigger and the step a little slower now for many of those who squared off in the tumultuous 1974 debate. But the tenor of Tuesday night’s panel, which included a number of audience members who were active in the controversy, showed that the arguments carry the same passion as they did 35 years ago.
For much of 1974, Kanawha County was divided over whether to allow certain textbooks in the classrooms. Opponents argued that some of the books reflected immoral and un-American viewpoints. Supporters said the books opened students to new and different ideas.
The controversy led to large demonstrations on both sides, schools being closed and, eventually, violence. The national media descended on Kanawha County as did outside forces which, some argued, acted as provocateurs.
The panelists were Alice Moore, a former Kanawha County School Board member; Rev. Avis Hill, who led anti-textbook protests; Rev. Jim Lewis, a leader of the pro-textbook movement; Dr. Kenneth Underwood who was the Kanawha County School Superintendent at the time; Connie Marshner, formerly of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank; Trey Kay who is producing a radio documentary about the controversy; and Calvin Skaggs who made the documentary “God is on our Side” which detailed the controversy.
I was the moderator, and I thought after researching the subject that we would be able to take a more detached view of the events of 1974. After all, it had been more than three decades. Ken Underwood told me before the panel began that he put the controversy behind him long ago.
I was wrong.
The Historical Society’s Henry Battle opened saying, “We’re here to do history, not to open old wounds, reargue the points or get in some final blows.”
But quickly the familiar arguments resurfaced. Often during the nearly two-and-one-half hours it felt as though we had all been transformed back 35 years and the great textbook battle was raging again.
Perhaps that was to be expected. Those who lived through the ordeal were deeply affected by what happened. It’s evident that for many the wounds have not healed.
The controversy was about more than just a few books. The sixties and seventies were a tumultuous time. Charleston Daily Mail Editor Jack Maurice wrote that there was “a vague sense that everything was coming apart at the seams.”
The textbook debate revealed an emerging chasm in this country between liberals and conservatives, Christian fundamentalism vs. secularism, rural against urban. Some have offered that the seeds of the Christian conservative movement in this country were sewn in Kanawha County in 1974.
Tuesday night’s attempt to set the record straight about the textbook controversy was valiant and fascinating. For that, the Historical Society and documentary producer Trey Kay deserve a tremendous amount of credit, as do the panelists for coming. It will likely be the last time the principles of this landmark event will all be together.
But we struggled with the question of, “What did it all mean?”
Napoleon said, “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” If that’s true, then perhaps the history of the great Kanawha County Textbook Controversy is not yet ready to be written.
