You Will Never Be One of Us: A Teacher, A Texas Town, and the Rural Roots of Radical Conservatism by Timothy Paul Bowman (review)

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• You Will Never Be One of Us: A Teacher, A Texas Town, and the Rural Roots of Radical Conservatismby Timothy Paul Bowman
• James B. Barrera

You Will Never Be One of Us: A Teacher, A Texas Town, and the Rural Roots of Radical Conservatism. By Timothy Paul Bowman. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2022. Pp. 232. Illustrations, map, notes bibliography, index.)

The culture wars of the 1960s and ‘70s led to social, cultural, and political divisions between liberals and conservatives throughout the United States. Timothy Bowman’s You Will Never Be One of Usoffers a microcosm of this type of “war” in the small, rural community of Hereford, situated in the Texas Panhandle. In particular, the book focuses on how the local conservative elite, including various school administrators and community members, opposed renewing the teaching contract of local English teacher Wayne Woodward when he started a local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). This story also provides great insight into the circumstances and conditions that led to Woodward’s dismissal and his civil rights case to contest the non-renewal of his contract in 1975.

The book begins with a historiographical analysis of rural conservatism, including its origins and development in the Texas Panhandle, which Bowman argues had rejected liberalism since the 1930s. The author contends how Woodward’s political views, religious affiliation and appearance were at odds with rural conservatives, who regarded him as a threat to Hereford’s conservative political culture even though he was not a leftist. Woodward’s employment was abruptly terminated because he joined the ACLU, which led him to file a civil suit due to school officials’ violation of his constitutional rights, according to Bowman. The last two chapters reconstruct the events of Woodward’s civil rights case to further portray the drama of this clash of cultures that was played out in the courtroom. The ”Afterword” provides Woodward’s final retrospective after more than forty years since his dismissal.

Bowman’s research incorporates insightful data from local archival sources, including legal documents and school records, and in-depth interviews about Woodward’s experiences as a teacher and his interactions with rural conservatives. Overall, this study reveals how the Texas Panhandle set itself apart from other parts of the country in asserting its uniqueness or sense of “regional exceptionalism.” The only shortcoming here is the lack of first-hand “voices” or information from interviews with rural conservatives mentioned in the book. Nevertheless, You Will Never Be One of Usis an impressive study and a major contribution to the historiography of the culture wars in rural America, twentieth-century Texas, and United States history. [End Page 470]

James B. Barrera South Texas College Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association