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Health & Social Policy LBJ School Op-Ed Politics and Governance

Conversion Therapy and Texas “Pride”: A Conversation with Garrard Conley

Author Garrard Conley kicked off 2018’s Barbara Jordan Week at the LBJ School by coming to speak at its inaugural event. Conley’s new book, Boy Erased, is an autobiographical account of his experience with gay conversion therapy and his complicated relationship with his parents. Conley discussed the psychological manipulation the conversion “counselors” used, the agony […]

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Politics and Governance

Of, By and For the People: Getting Involved in Local Government

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text] Photo: Sarah Pollock For a state that prides itself on having a culture of go-getters, Texas has a population of citizens who are remarkably disengaged from the political process. According to the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, voter turnout in Texas has been one of the lowest in the country for […]

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LBJ School

For what purpose do you rise? A slice of life at the Texas State Legislature in its 85th session

Photo: Eric About three weeks into my internship at the state legislature (or “lege”), we had the senate live feed playing in our office while we worked and for the first time, I noticed a unique feature of parliamentary procedure. One of the senators asked to be recognized and in response, the president said, “For […]

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Civil Rights LBJ School Op-Ed University of Texas at Austin

45 Arrests and Counting: a John Lewis Documentary at the 20th Barbara Jordan National Forum

Photo: Get In The Way Movie “Tell the story. Tell it over and over again.” So exhorts the titular figure at the beginning of “Get in the Way: The Journey of John Lewis,” a new documentary about John Lewis and his participation in the Civil Rights Movement. Filmmaker Kathleen Dowdey’s moving portrayal of this piece […]