Forging Ahead in the Fight for Justice and Equity: TCJE’s First Year

One year ago today, our organization launched a new name—and with it, a new vision for what justice can mean in Texas.

After 21 years—during the bulk of which we were called the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition—our staff, board, coalition members, and community came together in an important decision: it was time to change our name.

There were a lot of reasons to make the change, but the biggest was that we wanted our name to reflect who we are and where we’re going. Instead of defining ourselves by the cruelty of the “criminal justice” system, we wanted to emphasize the just and equitable vision that we’re fighting for. (You can read more about our rebrand in our blog post from last September or in the “Our New Name” explainer on our About page.)

It’s been a busy year since our name change, and we have no plans to slow down! Here’s a quick look at what our team has accomplished since last September.

• Along with our rebrand, we launched a brand-new website, with new sections like our supporter hub and justice glossary.
   
• We released new research and publications that push Texas further towards community-based solutions, including:
  • A data visualization about drug war policing in Travis County (Austin), called “Digging Deeper into Drug Enforcement Data: Over-policing and the impact on community resiliency” (Data Story, October 2021)
     
  • A report series on media bias around bond reform in Harris County (Report Series Homepage)
    • “The Real ‘Bond Pandemic’: Misinformation, False Narratives, and Bias in the Media” (Report Part I, November 2021)
    • “Materially Misleading: How the Houston Chronicle’s Coverage of Bond Misinforms the Public” (Report Part II, April 2022)
  • An explainer on why San Antonio leadership needs to pass “cite and release,” along with other solutions, called “San Antonio Must Pursue Public Safety Solutions Outside of Arrest and Incarceration” (Policy Brief, February 2022)
     
  • An exploration of the drug war’s impact on Texans and proposed solutions, called “Reversing the War on Drugs in Texas: Prioritizing Real Public Health and Safety for Texans” (Report, April 2022)
     
  • A report on women’s justice in Texas, called “Motherhood and Pregnancy Behind Bars: Texas Must Rethink How It’s Treating Mothers and Families” (Report, May 2022)
    
    
• Along with partners, our Harris County (Houston) team continued publishing weekly and monthly report series to improve accountability within the local justice system. (Harris County Judicial Accountability Reports page)
   
• Dallas County Project Director Leon Theodore continued to host his virtual “P.E.P. Talk” series, as part of the Perception Equals Potential Initiative! His 2022 conversations with education system practitioners and advocates included:
  • Mentoring and the Power of Perception, February 2022
  • Innovation and Education, February 2022
  • Mentoring: A Chance to…, February 2022
  • How Are the Children?, March 2022
  • The Arts and Education, May 2022
  • Changing Culture: Restorative Justice in Action, May 2022
• Our Statewide Leadership Council (SLC) released its first newsletter and hosted a series of “From Prison to Power” events, focused on helping formerly incarcerated and system-impacted people across Texas find their voices and become advocates.
  • Houston event video, January 2022
  • Dallas event video, April 2022
  • Austin event video, July 2022
    
    
• We continued sharing our work on the TCJE blog, including:
  • Blog posts highlighting lessons learned from our county-based projects
    • Visualizing the drug war in Travis County
    • Bias in Houston-area TV media outlets
    • Local government, bond reform, and misinformation
  • Reactions to holidays, local news stories, and national news, through a racial and social justice lens
    • Police violence as a women’s justice issue
    • Police brutality during Black History Month
    • Reflections on modern-day slavery during Juneteenth
    • A Q&A about supporting advocates in the LGBTQ+ community
  • The first installment of a new blog series focused on probation
     
  • An entry in our “Beginner’s Guide to the Texas Legislature” series focused on interim hearing
• We had historic success with our Amplify Austin 2022 campaign, and we’re also preparing for one of the biggest giving days of the year with North Texas Giving Day and Big Give San Antonio on September 22-23!
   
• We launched an organizational book club—an opportunity for our staff to learn together! So far we’ve read We Do This ‘Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba and Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms by Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law. Right now, we’re reading Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, Beth Richie, and Angela Davis.

As we changed our name to include the key words “justice and equity,” we also evaluated our own organizational practices for justice and equity. How was our team being supported in this work, which can be personal and even retraumatizing for those who’ve experienced the system firsthand? Were any of our practices perpetuating the harms of the system that we’re fighting to disrupt? To that end, we started a Sustainability and Wellness Initiative. Initial steps from that ongoing effort have included an employee survey and town hall, strategizing around budget transparency and reworked personnel policies, and a shortened work week. We’ve also committed to making our website and other web content more accessible. We’ll share more about this work as it continues! 

Whether you’ve been with us from the very beginning or this is your first time on the TCJE website, we’re thrilled that you’re a part of our community. Be sure to stay tuned, because one year in, TCJE is JUST getting started!