March 22, 2024
The Mama Bears of Montgomery County, Texas
By Finn Cooley
In 2022, three conservative Christian women with no prior political experience were elected to a school board. Are they part of a larger movement to undermine public education?
(Conroe ISD)
Reading has always been an important part of Psalm Lawrence’s life. She was born in Chicago to a single mother, and her family emphasized education from an early age. “I didn’t grow up in the best living conditions or have the easiest time growing up,” she says. “But one thing my mom always made sure she did—whether we had somewhere to live or didn’t have somewhere to live—she made sure I read, and she read to me.”
In 2015, Lawrence’s family moved to Montgomery County, Tex., a booming jurisdiction north of Houston. She became a student in the Conroe Independent School District—the ninth largest school district in Texas and the 60th in the United States.
Later, she attended Conroe ISD’s Oak Ridge High School, where she enrolled in advanced English classes for all four years. During her senior year, Lawrence noticed a disturbing trend in her AP Literature and Composition class. “Almost every single book that we had read that year was up for potential banning or had already gotten banned.”
