Michael Barajas
By Michael Barajas:
Greg Abbott’s Own Research Shows He Could Remove a Confederate Marker at the Capitol if He Wanted To
Abbott’s recent crash course on Confederate markers shows that immediate steps to remove the Capitol plaque are available — should he find the stomach.
For the past seven months, Governor Greg Abbott has been studying what he can do about a 59-year-old plaque hanging in the Texas Capitol that denies the Civil War was fought over slavery. While many lawmakers, including the speaker of … Read More
In Austin, ‘Discretionary’ Arrests for Petty Crimes Skew Blacker, Browner Than City Population
Austin Police Department officers used their discretion to arrest black defendants at a rate more than double that of either whites or Latinos last year.
In Texas, the consequences of getting caught with pot are a crapshoot. While the state has some of the most draconian and nonsensical marijuana laws on the books, the odds of getting hauled off to jail for a small amount … Read More
Something Has Changed in the Gun Debate in Texas
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has discovered a more palatable response to mass shootings, but how far beyond “thoughts and prayers” is he willing to go to curb gun violence?
Thoughts and prayers aren’t good enough following Texas’ latest mass shooting, not even for some of the state’s gun-loving officials. “We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families,” Governor Greg Abbott declared at a … Read More
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Activists Bail Out Young Black Moms Across Texas
Organizers who raised money to bail out black mothers across the state are part of a movement seeking to end what civil rights groups call “wealth-based detention.”
Simone Oliver took her first-ever trip to the Bexar County jail on April 25, when she said an argument with her partner spiraled into a misdemeanor domestic assault charge. Because she couldn’t afford $3,000 bail, Oliver spent 14 nights in … Read More
Lawsuit: Texas Art Teacher Suspended Because She Told Students About Her Wife
Stacy Bailey’s year-long suspension has triggered calls to update Mansfield ISD’s nondiscrimination policy, which in turn has prompted backlash from conservatives.
If you’re gay and an elementary school teacher in the North Texas suburb of Mansfield, simply telling students about your partner or spouse could cost you your job. Art instructor Stacy Bailey, a decade-long employee of Mansfield ISD and two-time … Read More
Lawyers Seek to Reform ‘Ethical Minefield’ of Public Defender’s Office Controlled by Texas Prison System
Former public defenders say prison officials who had a hand in prosecuting their clients influenced and sometimes outright interfered with their defense work.
Last week, David O’Neil stood before the Texas Board of Criminal Justice with an awkward request: He asked nine governor-appointed board members to relinquish their control over the Texas prison system’s little-known public defender’s office. O’Neil ran the trial section … Read More
Women in Texas Prisons Denied Same Academic, Job Training Opportunities as Incarcerated Men
"Black holes of inattention" lead to stark gender disparities in the Texas prison system, according to a new report.
A gulf exists between educational opportunities and job certification programs offered to men and women in Texas prisons, according to a new report by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. Incarcerated men, who can choose from a list of 21 professions, … Read More
Redistricting Guru Michael Li on Texas’ Gerrymandered Maps
Li, who grew up in Texas, has followed Texas’ seven-year legal fight to dilute minority voting power from the beginning.
The Texas Legislature is racist. Specifically, Texas lawmakers knowingly and intentionally pass voting laws that disproportionately harm minorities. Nine federal court rulings have more or less arrived at that conclusion since 2011. Last year, a federal three-judge panel found that … Read More
Blake Farenthold and the Consequences of Extreme Gerrymandering
How the Corpus Christi Republican, who abruptly resigned from Congress this week, benefited from a discriminatory redistricting plan that’s now before the Supreme Court.
Blake Farenthold’s frat bro image started with a photo from an adult pajama party that surfaced a month before his unlikely rise to Congress in 2010. Thanks to Farenthold, the image of a portly, rosy-cheeked man stuffed into a duck-pattern … Read More