The State of Texas Articles

January 22, 2020

Small Towns, Big Money

Across the state, small towns are fading away. But in a few places, rich people are spending big to revive them. And that comes with its own set of complications.

By Texas Monthly

November 18, 2018

The Power Issue: 31 Texans Taking Charge

From gymnast Simone Biles and Houston mayor Sylvester Turner to political megadonor Tim Dunn, here are 31 Texans who are changing the way we think about politics, education, food, philanthropy, and, well, pretty much everything else.

By Texas Monthly

News & Politics|

August 24, 2018

Voices From the Storm, a Year Later

Checking in with nine Harvey survivors a year after Texas Monthly first spoke to them.

By Texas Monthly

Books|

May 9, 2018

Sandra Cisneros: Listen, to Give Women the Catharsis of Being Heard and Believed

"I’m serving my community by telling our stories. That’s the role of every writer: to serve their community, whatever it is. If you don’t write it down, it’s like it never happened. We’re not in history as women if we don’t write it down."

By Charley Locke

Art|

May 9, 2018

Andrea Karnes: Feature Women as Artists, Not Just Female Artists

"I think women want to be seen on the same world stage as any male artist, any white artist—any artist at all. There’s no push to take identity away in art as a means to address bias, but every artist wants their work to be taken out of a demographic."

By Gabriella Dunn

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Betty Hukill: Women Need to Produce Our Cultural Stories

"Film and TV shows and theater tell our stories and shape our culture, and as fifty percent of the population, women need to produce more art that portrays women’s stories."

By Charley Locke

Politics & Policy|

May 9, 2018

Christi Craddick: Be a Mentor to Other Women

"Women who are interested in politics need mentors so they can realize their potential if they choose to run for office. There’s a value to relatability, or being able to not only see women already in leadership roles but have access to them."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Diana Natalicio: Build a Safe Environment for Women to Come Forward

"Any woman in a higher-profile position—women in administrative and supervisory roles, or faculty role models—has a responsibility to pay close attention to these issues, and to take time to listen when students, faculty or staff seek to talk about them."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Dilma Da Silva: In Male-Dominated Fields, Create the Work Culture You Wish You Had Come Up In

"When you have companies where women are CEOs, where they really have a hold at the top, it does make a difference. It has changed the culture. Now, you don’t assume that your boss will be playing golf, like the senior vice president that you had 25 or 30 years

By Charley Locke

Music|

May 9, 2018

Gina Chavez: Recognize Your Privilege

"When you have credibility and a mic from which to speak, that comes with a responsibility. Having a woman onstage allows a girl in the audience to say, oh, I can do that. A platform is an opportunity, and so is an audience."

By Charley Locke

Border & Immigration|

May 9, 2018

Irasema Cavazos: Stay in the Workforce to Support Other Women

"Educated women, professional women—we need you up there, changing the world for the benefit of all of us down here. You can love your family and be there for them all you want, but hire a domestic worker. Don’t give up your career."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Jan Realini: Help Young Women Practice Standing Up for Themselves

"Women need to know what to look for and how to respond. It should really be taught like a life skill: this is how you do a resume, this is how you manage credit cards, this is how you understand sexual harassment and what to do if you’re in that

By Charley Locke

Music|

May 9, 2018

Kam Franklin: Create Space for Female Acts

"Sometimes a festival rep will say they don’t want acts that are too similar. Could you imagine telling a man, 'Sorry, we can only have one indie rock band, you're all wearing Levi's and that's pretty overdone so we can't have that'?"

By Katy Vine

Energy|

May 9, 2018

Katie Mehnert: Foster Industry Communities to Promote Women

"We need more women to tackle the energy transition and tackle the biggest challenges we face: climate change, energy poverty, and good infrastructure."

By Katy Vine

Politics & Policy|

May 9, 2018

Mary Beth Rogers: Put Women in Positions of Power

"I think there is a true opportunity right now for women—even more significant than when I was in state government. We’ve got so many running for public office now. Once they win and their numbers grow, we’re bound to move beyond 'me too' to something better."

By Katy Vine

Politics & Policy|

May 9, 2018

MJ Hegar: Prove That Advocating for Women is in Everyone’s Best Interests

"In the military, there’s a sense of camaraderie that can sometimes make people bystanders. Once people see that this kind of treatment is damaging to the group, that’s when they’ll speak up. We have to change it so that people are more embarrassed to stand by and let it happen

By Charley Locke

Arts & Entertainment|

May 9, 2018

Nancy Barnes: Talk More Openly About Subtle Sexism in the Workplace

"As a female editor or journalist, you have to pick your moment about whether you want to complain and have everybody roll their eyes at you, or you want to deal with it and power through it."

By Charley Locke

Energy|

May 9, 2018

Nicki Turnbow: Be Tough and Do Your Job Well

"As a woman, you can’t put yourself in a bad position. One day, a foreman asked me to ride down with him to where they were drilling a deep gas well, about 45 miles away. I didn’t any more want to go than a man in the moon, and I

By Charley Locke

Health|

May 9, 2018

Anonymous: Recognize the Emotional Cost of Coming Forward

"I think a lot of nurses—ICU, emergency room, operating room nurses in particular—have to emotionally shut down to do their jobs. It’s like we learn to develop an aperture in our lens, of what you can let in and what you can’t. If you let yourself feel everything that happens

By Charley Locke

Politics & Policy|

May 9, 2018

Sarah Weddington: Stand Your Ground (and Run for Office Yourself)

"After I argued Roe vs. Wade the first time on December 13, 1971, I didn’t know if I was going to win or lose. I thought I’d better run for office to be in a position to prevent the passage of bills that would make abortion illegal or very difficult."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Sherron Molina: Turn to Your Union—and Support Female Leaders Within It

"Unions still have male-dominated leadership, so the women’s committees give women an actual chance to get strength or power in leadership. If we don’t have a voice, then leadership makes decisions about us without us."

By Charley Locke

Politics & Policy|

May 9, 2018

Sylvia Garcia: Remember Due Process

"The issue isn’t going away, because for once, women feel like they can speak up and that they are finally being heard. And I think as a body, the Texas Legislature needs to demonstrate that we’ve heard these women, and that we’re going to clean our own house."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Terri Burke: Provide Legal Resources to Women, Especially in Small Businesses

"It’s so important to have a place where people can feel free to bring their issues to someone to investigate, and in a smaller setting, victims really worry about losing their jobs. They worry that nobody will believe them, so they’ll lose their jobs for complaining. They worry that if

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Vianei Lopez Braun: Offer Multiple Avenues for Reporting Harassment Within a Company

"From time to time, you see unfortunate situations where the policy says report to the director of HR, and they have no credibility within the organization, or they are the actual harasser. You need a policy with multiple ways to come forward."

By Charley Locke

Politics & Policy|

May 9, 2018

Wendy Davis: Get Involved—Even If It’s In a Small, Persistent Way

"I disagree with those who say the #MeToo movement could go too far. That sentiment exhibits itself anytime there is an effective and active push for change, that somehow you're going to cause the unintended impact of actually hurting the cause."

By Katy Vine

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Wil Gafney: Create Structures to Check Power and Hold Leaders Accountable

"The procedures to protect women have to be institutionalized and standardized. If your model for authority and leadership is that whatever the pastor in charge says goes, then you don’t have accountability."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

May 9, 2018

Zahira Torres: Recognize Mentorship and Invisible Work

"In a mentor, you need somebody who understands the challenges of having this position and moving up through the ranks. For a long time in newsrooms, you didn’t have that. You didn’t have women in those positions."

By Charley Locke

The Culture|

April 13, 2018

San Antonio Is a City of Metamorphosis

Though the city’s Tricentennial Commission has thus far been a dismal failure, creative residents have found a way to celebrate their complex history and promising future.

By John Phillip Santos

The Culture|

February 7, 2018

A Deep Dive Into How Dallas Got Its Name

Prepare for a tale of blackface minstrelsy and swashbuckling high seas adventures, a whodunit with the last page maddeningly ripped out.

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