Constitutional Law

ACLU Scholarship Winner Takes On Texas Textbook Takeover

By Rachel Myers, ACLU

Yesterday, we posted about the Texas Textbook Takeover and what you can do to stop it. We hope you'll join us in taking action, and we wanted to tell you about a former ACLU scholarship winner who's also getting involved!

Matthew LaClair has been standing up for religious freedom since high school, when he fought back against the promotion of creationism and other religious beliefs in the classroom and helped form the Student Education Assembly on Religious Freedom. This Sunday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. EDT on WBAI 99.5FM, Matthew will host a lively discussion with Dr. Don McLeroy, a member of the Texas State Board of Education, who is leading the board's movement to rewrite history. Tune in here, or if you miss the show, here.

Matthew is no stranger to textbook controversy. In 2008, while a high school student in Kearny, New Jersey, he challenged misleading information contained in his textbook on U.S. government and enlisted the Center for Inquiry to issue a report on the book's contents. As a result, some of the inaccuracies were corrected in the next edition of the book. Matthew wrote about his experience and why he decided to stand up for his rights here.

Matthew is currently the president of the Center for Inquiry's student program and a board member of the Secular Student Alliance, where he is dedicated to protecting religious freedom, the rights of theists and nontheists alike and freedom of speech. He also helps host a radio show called Equal Time for Freethought, where he engages individuals in rigorous conversation about important issues of the day. Regarding his upcoming discussion with Dr. McLeroy, Matthew says:

I am sure that we will disagree on most points. But I truly believe that there is a possibility for some agreement and common ground, which I hope will convince him and other board members in Texas to change their minds regarding some of the amendments they are expected to pass.

Given Matthew's advocacy and first hand experience, Sunday's show should be well worth the listen. Don't forget to tune in here.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on April 23, 2010 (boomark / email).