Our Priorities
Strategic Roadmap for Community Empowerment
The Texas Center for Justice and Equity (TCJE) is committed to creating sustainable, transformative pathways for systemic change by focusing on practical, community-driven solutions that address the mass incarceration of Black and Brown people in Texas. As we celebrate our Silver Jubilee, we are launching a strategic framework built on three interconnected priorities that will guide our work for the next five years. These priorities represent our commitment to not simply identify problems, but to co-create solutions with the communities we serve.
What We're Doing
We are implementing innovative programming that equips young scholars—particularly those from communities of color—with the tools to excel academically, lead in civic life, and advance policy solutions relevant to their own lives. Our flagship Change Your Perception (CYP) Initiative, formerly being piloted in partnership with the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in Dallas, demonstrates our commitment to nurturing local talent and creating platforms for emerging community leaders to drive transformative change.
Why It Matters
The pre-school-to-prison pipeline disproportionately impacts Black and Brown youth, channeling them away from educational opportunities and toward incarceration. By investing in career-connected learning options and restorative discipline practices, we can keep young people in school and out of prison while preparing them for high-demand careers that drive Texas' economic growth. This approach not only transforms individual lives but strengthens entire communities.
Priority 2: Decriminalize Recreational Marijuana
What We're Doing
We are joining advocates across the political spectrum to advance the decriminalization of recreational marijuana in Texas. This practical focus allows us to mobilize grassroots advocates in pursuit of a winnable, practical effort that has gained unprecedented bipartisan support nationally.
Why It Matters
The criminalization of marijuana has led to deep racial inequities in policing, prosecution, and incarceration, with Black and Brown communities bearing the heaviest burden. Decriminalization will curb over-policing, reduce workload pressures on law enforcement, generate new revenues for education and workforce development, and prompt the release of people held in jails and prisons on small-scale possession offenses. This approach aligns with both public opinion and the needs of the communities we serve.
Priority 3: Expand & Strengthen Local Advocacy Networks
What We're Doing
We are building on our prior organizing successes by organically growing our networks of youth advocates, families of incarcerated people, and formerly incarcerated individuals living in our service areas. By updating our advocacy databases, strengthening our social media outreach, and engaging these expanded networks in policy advocacy, we will amplify voices that have historically been marginalized in policy discussions.
Why It Matters
Meaningful systems change requires energized, hopeful people acting strategically in pursuit of clear goals. Our history, advocacy networks, and longstanding presence across the "Texas Triangle"—Austin, Houston, and Dallas—uniquely position us to partner with local, state, and national advocates to advance innovative, effective policies of statewide significance. By elevating the voices of those most impacted by mass incarceration, we can build the power needed to transform Texas' criminal legal system.
Our Commitment to Results
TCJE is dedicated to generating measurable outcomes for the communities we serve. We will set and achieve specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals; apply technology and diligence to build stronger advocacy networks; sustain these networks to drive reforms now and over time; cultivate policymakers in ways that recognize current realities while facilitating breakthroughs; and advance funding and policy options that broaden our base through cross-sector collaboration.
Together, we can build a Texas where every person has the opportunity to succeed in thriving communities free from the harmful impacts of mass incarceration.