Monthly Newsletters
March 6, 2021
“Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States.”
~ W.E.B. DuBois
After spending part of my life growing up in Longview, I lived half of it in a metropolitan city where I really learned about my history for the first time. At Texas Southern University, an HBCU, I was taught extensively about African American history. One of my favorite professors at TSU changed my course of thinking for life. It was not until years later I found out he taught Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Barbara Jordan, and Mickey Leland - all of whom made significant changes to the course of history. Dr. Thomas Freeman, who lived to be 101 years old and taught until 2020, was regarded on campus as the professor who demanded your best and expected excellence which was intense to say the least. This teacher of philosophy nurtured the human side of being Black in America because America’s view of me is different than my view of myself. Five months of critical thinking and debate boot camp prepared me to never accept the norm as always being right, never hesitate to ask “why”, do not be afraid to ask the hard questions, be prepared, and make changes when necessary.
So, I joined TIUUS because the norm is not acceptable to voices that have not been heard, I want to ask the hard questions, and help make necessary changes.
Longview is a great place to live and raise a family for all who can equitably benefit from its resources and when diversity and inclusion is embraced. Many minorities have moved away after graduating high school in search of better opportunities for a livable wage and a dream. Moving back here I see the differences in many deeply rooted and systemic issues where a Confederate monument is honored at the halls of justice. Even if it does not personally affect you, does not mean there are not any underlying root causes. This Is United Supporters is a non-profit organization that want to see Longview thrive by addressing injustices from race, economic, education, criminal to health disparities. Our committees are set up to analyze issues in our community and to help improve communication with our local entities. We want to work with our officials to acknowledge and make a concerted effort on improving and creating better relations with the minority community. Let us not leave it on the table for discussion for another day or another time. The time is now.
Sign our petition below to remove the Confederate Monument at the courthouse:
REMOVE THE CONFEDERATE MONUMENT - GREGG COUNTY
A.D. Laury
This Is Us: United Supporters
February 8, 2021
My name is Don Woody. In 1984, I married an East Texas girl, and have lived in Longview the past 31 years. As a committee member for “This is Us,”I was allowed to share some thoughts.
We’ve all seen this one. The photo from January 6th. The man in the picture is not a Civil War buff, nor a reenactor playing a role in a history documentary. He carried into our national capitol what has been, since the late 1800’s, the banner of white supremacy.
The image of this same flag is carved in stone in a statue here on the lawn of the Gregg County courthouse. Like this man and the flag he carried, the statue isn’t there to remind us of the tragedy of the Civil War. The statue in Longview is dedicated to “our Confederate heroes.” The statue was funded by white supremacist money in 1911. It was praised when erected as a tribute to “the Lost Cause” –the hateful myth that slavery was a moral institution and that the whites that fought to protect it were heroes. It is a blight on our county that it still stands. We have commissioners who, on their own, will take no action to remove it. However, they will take action if enough Gregg County citizens speak out.
This is Us: United Supporters, is a group who would like to make Longview a better place. We invite you to join your voice with ours.
Thank you for your time and your support,
Don Woody
January 1, 2021
Hello This Is Us supporter:
We have not been very public these past few weeks, but we have been busy creating our website and our Facebook page. Our primary purpose at this time is to continue the effort to remove the monument from the Gregg County Courthouse lawn. For our Mission and Vision, please visit our website.
We have made it easy for you to like This Is US on our social media pages and to sign the petition to remove the Confederate monument by using our link tree.
We have tried to make it easy to send a letter to remove the Confederate monument using one of four different letters that can be personalized and emailed to the County Judge and Commissioners. Please send the Judge and Commissioners a letter using our website and let them know this issue is not forgotten. Your feedback on how this works for you is greatly appreciated. There is always room for improvement.
Please share these links with family and friends. Encourage them to complete the Contact Form on the website's homepage and send our county representatives a reminder to remove the monument. Completing the contact form will allow us to keep everyone updated on the efforts to remove the monument.
We are committed to removing this symbol of injustice and are planning other projects and opportunities to be involved. We will keep you posted.
This Is US is grateful to you for your support and involvement and it is our hope that your holiday season is safe and joyful. HAPPY NEW YEAR