Essay
Going It Alone
The Observer’s Founding Editor: ‘Bring the Fight Back’ to Texas Politics
It’s long past time in Texas for straight talk, starting with the blunt facts about the nullity the Texas Democratic Party has become.
Illustration by Adam Maida The presidency of Donald Trump is an emergency for the United States. Now is the time for each ethics-seeking American citizen to fig...Read More
A Texan’s Political Guide to Resisting Trump
Activism isn’t always grand or heroic. There is no task too small or out of reach.
A Houston activist outlines a strategy for resisting Trump in Texas....Read More
The Resistance Against Donald Trump Begins in Texas
The progressive movement in Texas must take bold action to inspire the residents of our cities to become part of the Trump resistance.
Texans are by and large more progressive than their state politicians. They must continue a long tradition of resistance to help stop Trump....Read More
What a 1940 Novel Can Teach Us About Fighting Trump
We cannot be passive in the face of great peril.
If you want to understand the moral circumstances that Americans face in the dawning Trump era, you could do worse than The Ox-Bow Incident......Read More
A Single Mom’s Search for ‘School Choice’ in Texas
Finding a good elementary school in Houston is easy — if you live in the right neighborhood, or can take on a school search as a full-time job.
Single mom Malkia Hutchinson never thought she'd be buying a $300 test prep kit for her 4-year-old, but that's how "school choice" shapes up in Houston....Read More
How Ali Inspired a Generation of Chicano Activists
Writes Gregg Barrios: Ali "gave me and countless others the moral right to protest the draft and the war," and inspired a new wave of activists of color....Read More
David Bowie in Aztlán
Forty years ago, Chicano students in Crystal City created a Bowie-inspired rock opera.
Forty years ago, Chicano students in Crystal City created a Bowie-inspired rock opera. Teacher Gregg Barrios wonders if his kids influenced the rock genius....Read More
The 66 Percent: Erasing Mexican Americans in the United States
Why aren’t we going past wanting to educate MexAm children to have ordinary pride in who they are and where they’ve come from?
Why aren’t we going past wanting to educate MexAm children, in their own neighborhoods, to have ordinary pride in who they are and where they’ve come from?...Read More
The New Migrants
In the harsh post-2008 economy, builders like my father live on the road.
Suddenly, my Dad — a builder — had a home loan, no equity, an ailing wife who couldn’t work, and no job. Now, he makes his living wherever he can....Read More