Human Rights
For the First Time, ‘Redeemed’ Texas Parents May Get a Second Chance
New legislation could open a legal pathway to reinstate once-terminated parental rights.
Maggie Luna tried to fit all of the love she had for her three children onto a tri-fold poster board a week before her court date. Each section of the plain whi...Read More
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
Fighting Anti-Trans Legislation Takes a Toll on Texas Kids and Families
A record-breaking wave of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced by state legislatures across the country this year. Texas lawmakers filed the most of any state, the majority of them attacking trans youth.
In 2015, after coming out as transgender at the start of 7th grade, 12-year-old Landon Richie traveled to Austin from Houston with his parents to speak to his r...Read More
Bringing the Dead Home
Thirty years after Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, only a fraction of human remains held by Texas’ museums and universities have been returned.
Thirty years after Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, only a fraction of human remains held by Texas’ museums and uni...Read More
Entre Fronteras
Desde una doctora varada en Ciudad Juárez, hasta un refugio cerrado después de un brote, el Covid-19 está golpeando fuertemente a lo largo de la frontera entre Texas y México.
Entre Fronteras Desde una doctora varada en Ciudad Juárez, hasta un refugio cerrado después de un brote, el Covid-19 está golpeando fuertemente a lo largo de...Read More
Between Borders
From a doctor stranded in Ciudad Juárez to a shelter closed after an outbreak, COVID-19 is hitting hard along the Texas-Mexico border.
Between Borders From a doctor stranded in Ciudad Juárez to a shelter closed after an outbreak, COVID-19 is hitting hard along the Texas-Mexico border. By Anna-...Read More
The Pandemic Is Just the Latest Threat Refugees in Abilene Face
The AbiMar Foods processing plant avoided disaster when COVID-19 spread across Texas, but as workers return to the new normal, they worry about keeping their jobs.
Mfaume Lawi has already lost his home several times. The first was during an attack on his village in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the civil war in t...Read More
The Protests Against Police Brutality in Texas, in Photos
Demonstrations against police brutality took place in cities large and small across Texas this weekend.
The Protests Against Police Brutality in Texas, in Photos Demonstrations against police brutality took place in cities large and small across Texas this weekend...Read More
‘We Don’t Exist’: Texas Domestic Workers Fight for Inclusion in Labor Laws
Domestic workers already lacked contracts, wage protections, and health care benefits. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
‘We Don’t Exist’: Texas Domestic Workers Fight for Inclusion in Labor Laws Domestic workers already lacked contracts, wage protections, and health care be...Read More
Feeding Refugees on the Texas Border Has Been Tough. Now There’s COVID-19.
Elizabeth “Lizee” Cavazos, who volunteers with Angry Tias and Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley, talks about the challenges of arranging food for a refugee camp in Matamoros as the coronavirus keeps volunteers stateside.
Since 2019, a crisis has been unfolding directly across the U.S.-Mexico border from Brownsville. About 2,000 refugees, largely from Central America, have been s...Read More