Essay
An Irreversible Sentence
Using dubious evidence, Texas condemned Clinton Young to death almost 20 years ago. I traveled 3,000 miles to Texas to help him.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the Texas Observer’s May/June 2021 print edition. Since its publication, prosecutor Ralph Petty has su...Read More
Editorial: Look Down Ballot for Democratic Wins in Texas
The GOP-controlled state Legislature reconvenes next week. But Democrats flipped seemingly obscure seats, from justice of the peace to county sheriff, that have outsized impacts on Texas families.
After the 2020 election, it’s time for Texas Democrats to stop setting unrealistic expectations about top-ticket races and instead start focusing on the down-...Read More
What the Black Lives Matter Protests Mean for East Texas
Protests where I grew up–where lynchings and KKK marches have occurred in my lifetime–could signal a shift in the region long plagued by racial terror.
The first time I thought I knew someone famous was when I saw a man we called Byrd on television. I lit up. Byrd, a Black man I recognized as a friend of my dad...Read More
Raise a Glass to the Class of COVID-19
Maybe they will help build a post-pandemic world (or so I hope).
My senior year of high school was all about parties, prom, one last wild class camping trip, and midnight diner runs with friends before we all sped away to our...Read More
What’s a Bookstore for?
Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, booksellers were facing razor-thin margins, an uncertain future, and the threat of Amazon.
The people who work in bookstores are, by and large, very brilliant. My co-workers at BookPeople, a large independent bookstore in Austin, were no exception. I ...Read More
Lessons on the Long Game from Goose Island’s Whooping Cranes
Cranes are survivors. Facing the century’s first global pandemic, they might be the sort of collective totem we need.
Word came on March 10 from my daughter’s Houston middle school: Their spring break learning trips had been canceled. For her 7th grade class, the original pla...Read More
In a Pandemic, Poor Defendants Could Pay With Their Lives
COVID-19 lays bare the fundamental inequalities that a cash bond system creates, and highlights the unsafe conditions our jails and prisons have designed.
I arrived at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office before 7 a.m. on Friday, March 13. The calls for action to stop the spread of COVID-19 had been buildi...Read More
Loneliness in the Age of Coronavirus
As a single parent, I was already struggling with loneliness. Then the coronavirus hit.
Before the coronavirus, America already had an epidemic: According to a 2018 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, one in five Americans say they often feel l...Read More
‘Cheer’ Takes an Overlooked Sport Off the Sidelines
The Netflix show about a Corsicana cheerleading squad’s journey to nationals explores an indignity I remember well from my time as a high school dancer: training for intense athletic competitions while being reduced to halftime entertainment.
My nose hovered just centimeters above the scuffed basketball court, legs folded beneath me in a perfect Z, my back flat enough to serve tea on. As a chugging s...Read More
Governor Abbott’s Campaign Against the Homeless Isn’t Just Cruel—It’s Dangerous
There’s a thin line between spreading hate, as the governor continues to do, and inciting violence.
I’m stopped at a red light next to I-35 in central Austin, waiting to cross under the highway on my drive home from work, when I see a young woman sitting on ...Read More