In the last few years, Texas has limited how America’s history of racism is taught in schools, restricted voting options heavily used by people of color and protected the GOP’s power with new political maps that diminish the power of voters of color.
. At the start of the 2021 regular legislative session, there were 17 Black lawmakers in the 150-member Texas House — 16 Democrats and one Republican. Only two Black senators, both Democrats, serve in the 31-member Texas Senate. A few Black Texans have held statewide office, but none have made it to the senior-most executive and legislative positions.
“If we all run, who’s going to be here to change some of the policies, change some of the laws and change some of the minds of people that are in control and power so that we are able to make it a better place?” said Naomi Green, a transgender woman who volunteers with multiple LGBTQ advocacy organizations in North Texas. “Who’s gonna be here to do that?”
Texas was the last state where enslaved people were proclaimed free — on June 19, 1865. The JuneteenthIn a state where the scars of Jim Crowstill linger, Black students today find themselves turning up at weekend brunch parties, Greek Life events and Black History Month observances on campuses that refused to entertain their applications a few decades ago. Many excel at institutions established by Black pioneers.
But for some Black Texans, resilience takes a toll — and some wonder what their lived experiences would be like if they didn’t always have to put so much emotional labor into persistently fighting for equality. The leadership opportunity feels surreal considering she started college during the fall 2020 semester — when classes operated in a hybrid format because of the coronavirus and when much of the country stood off balance from Floyd’s murder. Months before McGregor arrived on campus, Darius Tarver, a 23-year-old Black student, was shot andby Denton police. Tarver’s family has filed a lawsuit seeking damages, asserting that police used excessive force.
In the 11th grade, as she sat with some of her schoolmates in the local high school library, a white male friend unexpectedly walked up with a handful of students to harass her. Together the white students started shouting the N-word at the dark-skinned Black girl. Over and over and over. Even though there was no physical attack, she still felt like she’d been verbally jumped.
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