Essay
I Grew Up on the Texas-Mexico Border, but Now I Barely Recognize It
Somewhere It Hides a Well
Learning to look past borderland tropes in Presidio.
The photograph, taken in 1975, shows a long dirt road receding into blue mountains. A chain-link fence runs along the left side of the road, and on the right, a...Read More
Drinking the Kool-Aid at the Garden of Eden
Searching for community at a North Texas “ecovillage.”
Searching for community at a North Texas “ecovillage.”...Read More
The Road to Huntsville
My days on "the chain" — the prison bus to Huntsville — are long over, but they're still with me.
My days on "the chain" — the prison bus to Huntsville — are long over, but they're still with me....Read More
The Impossible City
Houston was built on a stubborn defiance of nature. As the city recovers from Hurricane Harvey, that same attitude will be on display — for better or worse.
Houston was built on a stubborn defiance of nature. As the city recovers from Hurricane Harvey, that same attitude will be on display — for better or worse....Read More
Dear Governor Abbott: The ‘Bathroom Bill’ Endangers Trans Texans Like My Son
I’ll tell my son as he gets older that his experience of gender is on the margins of society. But that’s all right; lots of great stuff happens on the margins.
Dear Governor Abbott, Not long ago, my kids and I spent five nights camping in Big Bend. We had a great spot for our little pop-up camper right next to the Rio ...Read More
Protecting Immigrant Families: A Call for an Economic Boycott of Texas
After SB 4, Texans should support immigration and boycott conventions, conferences and major sports events.
The time has come for us Texans to promote an economic boycott of our state until the misnamed “anti-sanctuary” law, Senate Bill 4, is repealed an...Read More
Cut from the Same Cloth: Wearing Hijab in Houston, Post-Trump
Wearing my hijab in Houston has always been complicated. In the Trump era, that's truer than ever.
Sometimes a piece of fabric is just a piece of fabric. Not so the hijab, the head cover worn by many Muslim women like myself. The hijab is a conversation start...Read More
Going It Alone
More than 40 percent of Texas families living in poverty are single-mother households.
courtesy Sarah Angle My 5-year-old daughter sits at the table, rocking back and forth in a rickety chair I should have replaced years ago. Peas and other discar...Read More
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