Category Archives: Texas

Ray Hill: Never Afraid To Speak Out

Everyone has moments in their life where we are faced with an immediate choice.  When we witness an injustice, do we speak out at that very moment, or do we shy away and try to make sense of it in our individual way?  Rarely is this inner struggle an easy one.  But whether easy or not for Houston human rights activist and LGBT icon Ray Hill, we do know that he found the courage to speak out, and fight for justice over the course of decades.

Now Ray himself may have referred to this speaking out as a “performance piece” in some circumstances… he was willing to yell, scream, get arrested and perform any type of civil disobedience as needed to draw attention to issues.  But whether performing or not, Hill was known as someone that generated important results.

Over this weekend, the legendary Ray Hill passed away.  From the Houston Chronicle

Hill, who late in life eschewed leadership roles in activist circles to hone a career as a monologuist — a dramatic undertaking that gained him appreciative audiences in New York, Pennsylvania and New England — died of heart failure in hospice care Saturday. He was 78.

A legend in his own right — and in his own mind — Hill’s business card described his profession as “citizen provocateur,” a proudly worn label he received from a Supreme Court justice after a long-ago legal battle with the cops.

“I was born to rub the cat hair the wrong direction,” he once said.

A rabblerouser, a social gadfly with a sting, Hill made the issues that mattered to him matter to everyone — or at least to those in power. He launched his activist career in 1975 after returning to Houston from a four-year stint in prison for burglary and larceny.

Ever willing to fight the man, at one point Hill bested the City of Houston in the highest court in the land when he got the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an ordinance that made it illegal to interrupt police officers.

Hill’s work continues to have an impact.  Long before the days of cell phone video, Hill fought for the constitutional rights of citizens as they encountered law enforcement.  A case he won against the City of Houston in the Supreme Court not only struck down the city ordinance, but is now used across the nation as more documentation of these interactions are known to the public.  His experience as a prison inmate turned prison reform activist have caused substantive changes in an aspect of Texas that few may understand, but that affects us all.

For decades, Ray Hill showed Houston, the state of Texas, and the entire world the true power of refusing to accept one’s contemporary circumstance.  Be it through civil disobedience (and maybe occasionally un-civil), wielding drama or plain old persistence, Hill was willing to work for change when he saw the need for it.  And as a result, he left an indelible influence on a whole generation of Texas activists.

I was fortunate enough to meet Ray Hill on a couple of occasions, but the one I remember most was sitting down with him and fellow activist Jenifer Rene Pool when she was a guest of his on KPFT.  Pool was running for Houston City Council, and I served as her Social Media director at the time.  As they spoke about various topics, the notion of finding one’s place came up.  After a moment of back and forth, Hill finally said, “but it’s not always about finding your place.  If you can’t find it after a while, you better just make it.

And that was Ray Hill, a true Texas original.  Because of his work, many more of us have a place in the conversation.  But that’s no excuse to stop making new ones as well.

Thank you Ray.

 

Texoblogosphere: Week of November 19th

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff looked at the results of the Congressional races to find some themes about what happened and what we can learn from them.

SocraticGadfly remembers the centenary of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Along with indulging in counterfactual history, he says people should stop romancing war in general.

As the results of the 2018 election are still being finalized, Texas Leftist is pretty sure that the Georgia Governor’s race will be remembered as one of the most important of this cycle. Though Democrat Stacey Abrams has ended her historic campaign, the work she does to combat Voter Suppression will have a lasting national impact.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Better Texas Blog explains the spending cap that the Legislature adheres to.

Houston Justice League reports from the NAACP Houston chapter elections.

Houston Legal has the details of the public reprimand issued by the State Bar of Texas against former Harris County GOP Chair and notorious homophobe Jared Woodfill.

Nonsequiteuse urges Beto O’Rourke to take another run for the Senate in 2020.

Paradise in Hell tells you more than you needed to know about Trumpy Bear.

Dan Solomon is satisfied with how the Amazon HQ2 thing turned out.

Alpha Big H: GaWC Ranks Houston As Texas’ First ‘Alpha World City’

In Texas, we talk alot about the “Big D”.  But it might just be time to up the conversation about the “Big H”.

According to the UK based Globalization and World Cities Research Network, the leading academic think tank on cities in globalization, the city of Houston has been doing some B-I-G things of late.  So big that we’ve managed to garner the world’s attention.  For the first time ever, Houston has been ranked as an Alpha World City by the GaWC, and also marks the first city in Texas to claim the distinction.

The new report sees the Big H out rank  other American cities like Denver, Atlanta, Boston and even our in-state neighbor Dallas.

In previous rankings, the Texas urban titans of Dallas and Houston were both classified as Beta World Cities.  Dallas retains its ranking from the previous report.

Per the group’s own metrics, the rankings are a measurement of how well a major city and its regional economy are integrated into the world economy.  Given Houston’s continued standing as one of the world’s leading energy captials, the ascent to Alpha status in comparison to other Texas metros may come as less of a surprise.  But even outside of the immediate energy realm, Houston’s recent advances in areas like healthcare, education and transportation have also proven to have a global impact.

Photo Credit:  L. Wayne Ashley for Ingressive Media 

Texoblogosphere: Week of November 12th

The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates last week’s wins and looks to build on them as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff has some fun with the Harris County Republican Party and its ridiculous whining about straight ticket voting.

SocraticGadfly had a three-part election wrap. First, he looked at general hot takes, trends and issues from races. Second, he observed that conservative writers at centrist political mags were getting out the long knives for Beto, maybe in fear of a 2020 presidential run. Third, noting successful Democratic Socialist of America campaigns, he wondered if they would stay true to ideals once in office, and other issues, above all, the use of the word “socialist.”

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Colin Strother makes the case for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Therese Odell vents about the Saturday Night Live/Dan Crenshaw situation.

Sanford Nowlin reports on how progressives hope to build on 2018.

Paradise in Hell interprets the Presidential appointment-making process.

Grits for Breakfast looks at the 2018 results through a criminal justice reform lens.

Dan Gordon cuts through the anti-Semitic crap.

 

And just gotta say… the view from a much more #BlueTexas is looking pretty good!!  Let’s work together, and fully realize that dream in 2020 and 2022.

Despite Racist Attacks From Opponent, Sri Kulkarni Runs Transformative Campaign for Congress

In Houston and other parts of Southeast Texas, Diversity is often considered a strength.  As home to both the most Diverse City and one of the most Diverse Counties in the United States, people in this Texas community are a window into the country’s future.

One person that may represent that future more than anyone in 2018 is Sri Kulkarni, Democratic nominee for Texas’ 22nd Congressional District.  As Ella Nilsen of Vox shares, Kulkarni is running a competitive race against incumbent Pete Olson, and doing it in a transformative way…

 

When Democrat Sri Kulkarni started campaigning in the deep-red Texas district once represented by Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, consultants told him not to even bother trying to get the district’s Asian-American vote.

“I was told, ‘Don’t chase after Asian voters, they don’t vote,’” Kulkarni said in a recent interview with Vox, adding: “Maybe they don’t vote because we don’t bother.”

Kulkarni, a 40-year-old former foreign service official under the Bush and Obama administrations, is doing the opposite of what the consultants told him. “Why don’t we try reaching out in other languages, not just English?” Kulkarni thought. He’s running a campaign with volunteers speaking to voters in 16 languages — aggressively trying to convince the district’s Asian-American voters to cast their ballots for him.

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It’s a simple premise: greeting a voter in his or her native language builds a relationship with that voter and opens a door to the community. Kulkarni already proved it worked in the primary, emerging on top in a field of five candidates. His campaign’s internal numbers suggested their outreach had dramatically increased Asian-American primary turnout, from 6 percent in 2014 to 28 percent in 2018.

“This thing that was a waste of time resulted in a 12-fold increase in people coming out in the Asian community,” Kulkarni told Vox.

 

That dramatic increase in turnout is key to a potential path to victory for Kulkarni.  Which is why it’s no surprise that his Republican opponent, like President Trump, is resorting to fear and racism as a response to this unique campaign.

Here’s more on that from India West

Rep. Pete Olson, a Texas Republican who is engrained in a contentious battle for the 22nd Congressional District, won’t say why he called his Indian American Democratic challenger, Sri Preston Kulkarni, an “Indo-American carpetbagger.”

In a video of an Oct. 23 campaign meet-and-greet obtained by HuffPost, Olson reminisced about a political rally President Donald Trump held in Texas.

“Out of nowhere Texans stood up and said, ‘CNN sucks, CNN sucks,’” Olson recalled, prompting laughs from his supporters.

Pressed by a voter on whether those shouts were appropriate, Olson shrugged. “Sometimes we have to have fun,” someone in attendance called out, the report said.

But in an era where voters are paying attention like never before, it’s quite possible that Olson’s shameful comments could backfire.  Kulkarni is not only working hard to reach out to the district, he’s  also not afraid to play hard ball with the incumbent’s disappointing legislative record.

As is the trend across Texas’ largest counties, those in Fort Bend are voting at historic highs for a Mid-Term election.  And part of that vote may just be motivated by Kulkarni’s wise campaign strategy, then Congressman Olson should be concerned.

Whatever the results, Texas is a better state for campaigns like the one being run by Sri Kulkarni.

Texoblogosphere: Week of October 29th

The Texas Progressive Alliance urges everyone who has voted to work to get more people to the polls as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff looks at the potential ticket-splitters in this year’s election.

SocraticGadfly does some number-crunching on the early voting surge and offers a quick hot take on what it might mean for the Cruz-O’Rourke Senate race.

Stace at Dos Centavos reports on the weekend’s voting and cultural activities in the Northside and The Heights.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Sanford Nowlin reminds us that some Christians do support progressive ideas and politics.

The TSTA Blog begs teachers to support public education at the ballot box.

Rick Casey votes No on a license plate honoring Confederate soldiers.

YesNoBlog suggests we pay attention to the security of our GPS systems.

Paradise in Hell ranks Donald Trump’s favorite dictators.

Out in SA warns of a threat to San Antonio’s non-discrimination ordinance.

 

Pictured is the incredible #BetoWallHTX in Houston’s 2nd Ward.  Created by Anat Ronen and Melissa Eason, the work has been an instant (or maybe we should say “Insta”) favorite for curious Houstonians.  Be sure to check it out!!

Voter Suppression 101: Why Are Harris County Voters Subjected To Limited Hours, Locations?

It may not be top of mind for most visitors, but the city of Houston and its surrounding region is something of an educational powerhouse.  With nearly 100,000 students in the area’s public and private universities, Greater Houston is a regular destination for young adults seeking higher education advancement.
As most can tell by now, interest in the 2018 election is high across the board, including college students, which have traditionally proven to be a less than dependable voting population.  As Sammy G. Allen of DIVERSE- Issues In Higher Education reports, that interest has hit a fever pitch for Texas’ Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs…

The U.S Senate campaign of Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke has motivated students at historically Black colleges and universities in Texas, resulting in thousands registering to vote, rallying for the right to vote on campus, and encouraging others to do the same.

O’Rourke, who is an El Paso congressman, has crisscrossed the state, visiting all 254 counties in an effort to unseat incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Along the way, he has stopped by numerous community colleges and universities, including four of the state’s nine HBCUs.

The pollsters and political consultants would never tell you to visit Paul Quinn College, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University in the last month of the campaign. With so few days left, with limited time and resources, they would say spending that time with young people is a waste. That’s exactly why this campaign doesn’t use pollsters or consultants,” O’Rourke said. “My campaign is about showing up to every community and not taking anyone for granted.”

O’Rourke’s platform includes prison and judicial reform, supplying school districts with needed resources and increasing Pell grants for students who want to attend college.

Students at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, and Prairie View A&M (which, as Rachel Maddow pointed out on her show, is in fiercely discriminatory Waller County) will be able to exercise their right to vote between classes on campus, as both institutions will have an on-site Early Voting location, for at least part of the state-sanctioned early vote period.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Texas’ largest historically black university, as Texas Southern University students do not have an Early Voting location on campus.

The very same is true outside of the HBCU sphere.  The University of Houston happens to be the largest institution in the state of Texas that DOES NOT have an Early Voting location on campus.  UH, as well as other system institutions University of Houston- Downtown, University of Houston- Clear Lake and University of Houston- Victoria all lack access to Early Voting on campus.  This is in marked contrast to other similarly-sized schools, like UT-Austin , Texas A&M  and UTSA, which all have at least one Early Voting site right on their campus.

As a reminder, Harris County has a population of 4.6 million people… the third largest county in the United States.  While 46 Early Voting locations may seem copious when compared to other Texas Counties, this year’s long lines would suggest that it may be time for the county to consider further expansion of their sites.  For example, Dallas County has 47 Early Voting locations for it’s 2.6 million residents, and nine more “temporary locations” employed for the 2nd week of voting.

So if you compare much larger Harris County to our neighbors to the north, you can expect longer lines and a less convenient experience getting to and through the polls, as many Houston area voters have already seen.  Compound that by the continued practice of Harris County Voters having reduced hours for the first week of Early Voting, which can further depress turnout, even if from the inconsistency of hours.

 

Folks… this is Voter Suppression.  Some may find it more subtle than aggressive Voter ID laws, or downright intimidation.  But restricting hours, limiting voter access of certain populations and having fewer locations in general than the population demands can all serve as a deterrent to voters.  And just let it sink in for a second… the third largest county in the United States doesn’t even employ MOBILE Early Voting centers?!?!  Wouldn’t this election be the year to start??

All this to say, it’s time for the citizens of Harris County to speak out and call attention to these issues.  Yes we MUST vote in the 2018 election.  But while you’re waiting in line, it’s a perfect time to call or tweet Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart and ask him why Harris County is so far behind when it comes to making Early Voting accessible for all.  This is a problem that can be solved.

Election Day 2018 is Tuesday November 6th, and Early Voting runs from October 22nd through November 2nd.  For Houston area voters, here’s early voting information for Harris CountyFort Bend CountyBrazoria CountyMontgomery Countyand Galveston County For other areas, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s Elections Page for your county information.

DON’T LET THEM SUPPRESS YOUR VOTE!!!