At almost 45 years old, I find myself regularly looking back to take stock of God’s providence for myself and for Alabama. God is kind to give us markers and reminders of His work in the past, answers to prayer in the present, and hope for the future.
As a father of four, I want to work for the future, to plant trees under whose shade my children and grandchildren will rest, and to build something of lasting value for the glory of Christ and the temporal and eternal good of those coming after me. I have a deep appreciation for my parents and others in their generation who modeled this pioneering spirit so that I could benefit from their foresight and courage.
This past legislative session, I was struck by the remarkable legislation we passed, including the display of the 10 Commandments in Alabama’s public schools and a constitutional amendment for November’s ballot requiring school recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, while also allowing for student-led prayer. This is particularly relevant in Alabama because, just over 20 years ago, Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court for courageously defying a federal court order to remove the 10 Commandments from the state judicial building.
Moore faced similar opposition as a Circuit Court judge in Etowah County, but the difference was the courageous governor who stood by him and even threatened to mobilize the Alabama National Guard to protect him and defend our cultural heritage as a Christian nation. One can only wonder what would’ve happened had he received the same courageous help when he served as our chief justice.
Just over 20 years later, the Alabama Legislature passed the CHOOSE Act giving universal school choice to our citizens. I carried the school choice bill as a freshman legislator, fighting for Alabama’s parents and defending the bill in public hearings. I did so because I firmly believe that Article 1, Section 35, of the Alabama State Constitution – “That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression” – must always direct how legislators should vote.
I also supported the school choice bill because I love our public school teachers, coaches, principals, students – the entire infrastructure. For our public schools to thrive, there must be an organic connection between the schools and those they serve – the kind of connection my dad tells me existed during his youth. That connection ought to reflect the financial, cultural, spiritual and vocational priorities of Alabamians. It ought to help pass down our way of life – not impart a worldview that seeks to make Alabama a secular, godless, unmoored mass of atheism and moral relativism.
The school choice legislation was taken from me in the next session and given to another legislator, but I’m very glad it passed. Remarkably, just two years after the CHOOSE Act’s passage, we have enshrined the 10 Commandments in our public schools and are also well on our way to returning the Pledge and prayer to our halls of learning.
This is a seismic shift, one that I like to look back at in my mid-40s, appreciating what God has done and is doing in Alabama.
What changed to bring this about?
In brief, Alabamians found their courage and conviction. Alabama’s parents are done being treated as if they are untrustworthy, as if they are not the front line of defense for their children. By legislatively putting Alabama’s parents at the financial table to direct their own tax dollars as they see fit, they are transforming the education, culture and direction of Alabama’s future.
It honestly feels a bit like Covid when “the science changed” and mask mandates ended after our “leaders” got caught living a lie. When Alabama’s parents finally got a seat at the table to direct their own money as they saw fit, it did not take long for the marketplace of education to respond to the realities of the free market.
Alabama is overwhelmingly a Christian state. Education is never religiously neutral – our children are daily taught where they come from, who they are, and where they are going.
Let’s lean into a courageous Christianity that honors our past, lives unashamed in the present, and builds for the future by making sure that Alabama’s children hear that story from Alabama’s parents.
State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough serves in Alabama's Seventh District.
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