The ACLU of Texas and a coalition of civil rights leaders sent almost 500 letters last week to criminal justice officials urging them to take public health experts’ advice and release individuals who are at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 from county jails. Specifically, the focus is placed on communities in […]
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Tiara Cooper in FOX4 News: Five Inmates in Dallas County Jail Diagnosed with COVID-19
At least five inmates who have been in the Dallas County jail have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown said the first inmate to test positive was a male inmate in his 40s who had been there since December. He was housed in a shared unit with about 50 other inmates. Those inmates […]
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Rev. Wes Helm on WPAB: Advocacy Groups Call for Rent & Utility Relief During Coronavirus Emergency
Advocacy groups are calling for rent and utility relief during the coronavirus emergency A petition effort calls for the City of Dallas and Dallas County to place an immediate moratorium on all evictions and utility shut-offs. In the meantime, Wes Helm with ‘Faith in Texas‘ suggests that residents contact their utility, as some are already deferring […]
Learn MoreFaith in Texas in Inside Philanthropy: As State Governments Stifle Local Democracy, Funders and Nonprofits Are Fighting Back
In recent years, democracy reformers across the U.S. have been pushing back against state-level practices that undermine the ability of ordinary Americans to make their voices heard and ensure that government is responsive to their needs. But while battles over partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression have received wide attention, there’s also a growing effort to […]
Learn MoreFaith in Texas in Medium: Will Other States Follow California’s Flip from Red to Blue?
There is no shortage of progressive grassroots organizations in Texas. The Industrial Areas Foundation has been at for decades, and Texas Tribunecounts more than 100 organizations in its grassroots directory. Efforts to handcuff conservative Christianity and the Republican party are being countered by organizations such as Faith in Texas, whose agenda includes voter engagement, ending unnecessary incarceration, and bringing working class communities into economic policy discussions.
Learn MoreWes Helm and Lola Vinson in The Washington Post: In God’s Country
A little before our trip to Farmersville, I met Lola Vinson and Wes Helm, members of a multiracial, progressive community organizing group called Faith in Texas, whose projects have included local criminal-justice reform, anti-police-brutality efforts, a living-wage campaign and agitation against predatory lending. Working with several faith groups in Texas, including evangelicals, is key to the organization’s mission, and I wondered how Vinson and Helm’s experience might have shifted since Trump’s ascendancy.
Learn MoreBrittany White on WHUR Radio: How should we address mass shootings?
LIVE FREE Texas Campaign Manager Brittany White visited WBUR Radio to discuss the most recent mass shootings in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH. “Yes, it is absolutely important that we condemn white supremacy for the evil that it is in this country… We should pray and act. We should condemn white supremacy from our […]
Learn MoreFaith in Texas Democracy Fellow Tiara Cooper on Fox4 News: Judges Working Towards Dallas County Bail Reform
“I do know I was wrong for what I did,” she said. “But the fact that other people are coming in doing the same thing I did, they are just as wrong as me. But if they have the money, they can go home to their families and work out their case.”
Learn MoreMaria Robles in Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Why critics protesting Trump’s child detentions won’t give up
She wants lawmakers to use funding to help the migrants instead of hiring more agents for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. “We were there to highlight our despair for all of these lives that have been lost. It’s really sad that this is a partisan issue when life is not about partisanship,” she said. “Our message was invest in love, not hate.”
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