Michelle Haas, an amateur historian and the founder of Texas History Trust, expressed her displeasure with the informational video presented in the Varner-Hogg plantation upon visiting the site. Haas stressed that the video put great emphasis on slavery, neglecting the Hogg family's role in transforming the site into a museum celebrating the history of Texas.

Varner-Hogg Plantation encapsulates generations of Texas history, commerce, and entrepreneurship. The plantation site was once the residence of the Hogg Family, the kin of Ima Hogg. She is a significant figure in Texas History who founded the Child Guidance Center in Houston and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas in 1929.

Books depicting slavery, including works by Carol Anderson and Ibram X. Kendi, are also on the site. Andersen and Kendi are two black academic historians whose works revolve around societal issues of race and equality.

Haas' observation on the site prompted her to email David Gravelle, a board member of the Texas Historical Commission, on September 2, 2022. Haas expressed in the email her disapproval of the contents shown in the video and requested the removal of the books about slavery. Over the subsequent eight months, Haas persistently emailed Gravelle, advocating for the removal of such books.

In response to Haas' emails, David Gravelle had brought the cause to the Texas Historical Commission. In February, Gravelle emailed three commission board members, including the chairman and two senior staff members. In these emails, Gravelle expressed concern about certain books that he felt were deviating from the accurate history of Texas and delving into present social issues instead. 

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In mid-April, Haas sent an email to John Nau III, the chairman of the Texas Historical Commission, along with several staff members, and shared the email with Gravelle. The email restated Haas' concerns about the informational video she observed at the Varner-Hogg plantation, and she appended a list of 23 books she identified as concerning that were being sold at the nearby Levi Jordan historical plantation. Haas requested that the books be assessed for their relevance to the history of Brazoria County.

On May 3, Gravelle forwarded a compilation of books to the board member overseeing the historic sites committee, John Crain, the president and CEO of the Summerlee Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to animal welfare in Dallas. Gravelle stressed that these books do not depict Texas history. Gravelle sought the assistance of Crain in creating a policy in which only books about Texas history should be placed on the site. 

By the end of May, Gravelle's policy was enacted. The commission staff devised a plan to reduce inventory, presenting proposals to cease all acquisitions for Texas Historical Commission stores, discount merchandise, and pinpoint items for removal.

As of November, Haas' requests had been fulfilled. The Texas Historical Commission ceased the sale of 'White Rage' by Anderson, 'Stamped From the Beginning' by Kendi, and 23 other works that Haas objected to. Other literature no longer available for purchase includes an autobiography of a slave girl, a book of Texas slave narratives, Alex Haley's renowned novel 'Roots,' and the National Book Award-winning 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison.

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