Essay
In a Pandemic, Poor Defendants Could Pay With Their Lives
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
Why a Small Offense Shouldn’t Have Life-Altering Consequence
Opinion: Nearly 10 years ago, I was arrested and detained in jail for 45 days after failing to appear in court for a low-level, non-violent offense. Today, I’m fighting so that others don’t have to go through what I did.
Standing in San Marcos’ crowded city hall lobby this past September, I watched the faces of the city’s leaders. Dozens of residents—business owners, colle...Read More
Why I Started a Book Club in the Harris County Jail
Education programs make jails safer and reduce rates of recidivism when people reenter society.
I felt my blood pressure rising, heard my heartbeat in my ears, and tasted my mouth drying out as the heavy jail door slammed shut behind me. It was my first ti...Read More
A Chain Reaction
Luby’s is in trouble. Can the iconic cafeteria chain endure?
A Chain Reaction Luby’s is in trouble. Can the iconic cafeteria chain endure? * by Andrea Valdez November 25, 2019 A boilerplate business news headline trigge...Read More
Having My Period in Prison Was Awful. In Texas, That May Finally Change.
When I was locked up, I often had to go without tampons or pads. A new law ensures that the 12,500 women still behind bars won’t have to.
“Does the commissary have any more tampons?” My bunkie shook her head. “I already asked when I went by there.” I panicked. “What are we gonna do? I’...Read More
Up From the Desert
As a child, I hunted for fossils in the Chihuahuan Desert beyond my backyard. Those afternoons shaped the way I think about my fronteriza identity today.
I spent many childhood afternoons searching for sea fossils in the Chihuahuan Desert, finding geologic history strewn throughout the brown and dusty land. My ne...Read More
To Understand the El Paso Massacre, Look to the Long Legacy of Anti-Mexican Violence at the Border
The El Paso shooter wasn’t a “lone wolf.” His act of white supremacist terror is part of a century of racial violence targeting fronterizo communities.
In the immediate aftermath of the El Paso shooting—the largest massacre of Latinx people in the history of the United States—politicians of all stripes stoo...Read More
