News & Commentary

Thanks to my relentless advocacy and a lawsuit I pursued with the ACLU of Texas, an important victory now helps me and countless others live more authentically as ourselves in Texas prisons.

As Texas prepares to execute two more people, questions linger about past dysfunction and critical errors.

In the summer of 1990, the first Disability Pride Day was held to celebrate the newly passed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Since then, July has become Disability Pride Month worldwide. 

The ACLU of Texas and ACLU National staff are deeply saddened about the sudden loss of our client, Kiara Yarbrough, who passed away at the age of 26. We offer our deepest condolences to Kiara’s family, including her two young sons, and wish them comfort during this difficult time. Kiara embodied the idea that speaking truth to power is at the heart of justice. As a plaintiff in our case, Sanchez v. Dallas County Sheriff, she helped shine a spotlight on Dallas County Jail’s failure to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

Four formerly incarcerated people — including one Texan and his family — share their stories about what it’s like to be incarcerated during the pandemic, while friends and family members are left helpless on the outside.

This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott delivered his annual State of the State address, a state-mandated speech meant to inform the people of Texas about the governor’s legislative and governing priorities. With more than 37,000 Texans dead from COVID-19, notably Abbott’s agenda did not include a single item to address the pandemic for regular Texans. It offered nothing to help people get vaccines more quickly, support hospitals and schools, nor make nursing homes safer. 

Today marks the opening of the 87th Texas Legislative Session — and it signals enormous opportunity and peril for civil liberties in Texas. With a tense national political climate, a pandemic devastating communities across Texas, and lingering racial unrest since the killing of George Floyd, this session will be one of the most challenging — and most important — we have seen in recent history. 

In the past year, many of us have made difficult choices to keep ourselves and loved ones safe from COVID-19. But throughout Texas county jails, incarcerated people have fewer options and depend on local leaders to enact precautions to keep them safe. 

In the past year, we’ve witnessed so many agonizing examples of the brutal reality of systemic racism. We’ve mourned the loss of more than 270,000 American lives from a deadly pandemic. We’ve seen a dramatic shift in the ideological balance at the U.S. Supreme Court, placing abortion access, LGBTQ equality, and voting rights in peril. And threats to our democracy seem to be mounting.